Madeleine Albright, diplomat and politician who became the first woman to serve as US Secretary of State – obituary

Madeleine Albright, who has died aged 84, became the first female US Secretary of State in 1997, serving under Bill Clinton after a somewhat chequered four years as US ambassador to the UN. Though initially dismissed by many commentators as a lightweight, Madeleine Albright did much to restore the authority of American foreign policy after the inglorious tenure of her predecessor Warren Christopher, bringing a fresh, outspoken approach to her role. Some observers felt that Madeleine Albright’s forceful stance owed much to her own early memories of being a refugee from European dictatorship. Two years later, 10 days after the Nazis had walked into Czechoslovakia, the Korbels – “with the help of some good friends and lots of luck and a little bribery”, according to Madeleine’s mother – managed to get the necessary Gestapo permission to leave the country.