Statement by President George W. Bush on Secretary Madeleine Albright

DALLAS, TEXAS – “Laura and I are heartbroken by the news of Madeleine Albright’s death. She lived out the American dream and helped others realize it. As a young girl in Czechoslovakia, she fled the Nazis, and years later, she fled Communism. When she arrived in the United States as a young girl aboard the SS America in 1948, she never dreamt that she would become our nation’s first female Secretary of State. She served with distinction as a foreign-born foreign minister who understood firsthand the importance of free societies for peace in our world. I respect her love of country and public service, and Laura and I are grateful to have called Madeleine Albright our friend. We send our sincere sympathies to her daughters.”

Oil painting by President George W. Bush from Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants. Download image