Madeleine Albright – Advocate for DU

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who spent much of her childhood in Denver and on the University of Denver campus with her parents, just passed away. Her father, Josef, was the first dean of the international relations school, which was later named for him, the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. His daughter became the first woman Secretary of State and one of his top students became the first African-American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.

In recent years, Madeleine was frequently on campus for events, always interacting with students. In 2018, she joined a panel I moderated with her fellow former Secretary of State John Kerry for an hour-long panel on foreign policy and American politics. She had just released her book, “Fascism: A Warning,” a timely read for today. As a European refugee, she took special interest in European affairs and was an indefatigable defender of democracy as a diplomat, a teacher and an advocate.

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