President Obama congratulates former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright after presenting her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House in Washington on May 29, 2012.
(Getty Images)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, May 31, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – During a ceremony held at the White House on Tuesday awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to several American political and cultural icons including Madeleine Albright (the 64th U.S. Secretary of State and the first woman to hold that position) President Obama related an anecdote from the remarkable and inspiring story of a child refugee from Czechoslovakia who lost her grandparents in the Holocaust, but rose to become America’s top diplomat.
“This is one of my favorite stories,” Obama said. “Once, at a naturalization ceremony, an Ethiopian man came up to her and said, ‘Only in America can a refugee meet the Secretary of State.’ And she replied, ‘Only in America can a refugee become the Secretary of State.’”
Albright currently serves as a Professor of International Relations at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Watch as Secretary Albright talks about her proudest accomplishments in the service of her adopted country:
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