Madeleine Albright Quotes

I think that we had a different view of what the 21st century could be like, with much more of a sense, from our perspective, of trying to have an interdependent world: looking at solving regional conflicts, having strength in alliances, operating within some kind of a sense that we were part of the international community and not outside of it.

There are a lot of similar aspects in all the religions. The question is which side of it you hold up.

I didn't want to set up a women's studies program. I thought women should learn to operate in a coeducational atmosphere, because, especially in national security and international affairs, it's male-dominated.

It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.

It takes more than one dove to make peace in the Middle East.

You have to learn to interrupt because you aren't going to get called on.

It is an unfortunate fact that in many parts of the world women are considered property. An awful lot of injustice is obviously due to that; not just women's status in the home, but all kinds of laws that are even more discriminating.

One of my trips was to meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council with all the Saudi foreign ministers, and when we started the meeting I said 'Perhaps you've noticed that I'm not dressed the same as my predecessors, but no-one had a problem and I was never treated with anything other than respect ... So I did not have problems with that, interestingly enough.

If there's nobody in your way, you're not going anywhere.

We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction.

My deepest regret from my years in public service is the failure of the United States and the international community to act sooner to halt these crimes.

Hillary Clinton will always be there for you. And just remember - there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other.

When combined with information and communication technologies, microcredit can unleash new opportunities for the world's poorest entrepreneurs and thereby revitalize the village economies they serve.

So people are talking about revolution. What a revolution it would be to have a woman president.

You think that the heads of state only have serious conversations, but they actually often begin really with the weather or, 'I really like your tie.'

I think women want to take care of themselves, and I think having a voice in how that is done is very important.

The best book, like the best speech, will do it all - make us laugh, think, cry and cheer - preferably in that order.

Whatever the job you are asked to do at whatever level, do a good job because your reputation is your resume.

But I do not believe that the world would be entirely different if there were more women leaders. Maybe if everybody in leadership was a woman, you might not get into the conflicts in the first place. But if you watch the women who have made it to the top, they haven't exactly been non-aggressive - including me.

I did go to Wellesley, a women's college. And I am of a kind of strange generation which is transitional in terms of women who wanted to go out and get jobs.

I felt that America's duty was not to try to do everything itself, but to foster a sense of commitment that would bring out the best in every country.

I don't actually believe in a clash of civilizations. I believe in a clash of the civilized and the noncivilized.

The system he (President Hosni Mubarak) is recommending would make it virtually impossible for truly independent parties to participate. Sham democracy should be exposed for what it truly is.

Go for it, never back down, and don't give in, because there's no greater satisfaction in life than using your gifts to help others and to contribute to your community and country.

For me, America is really, truly the indispensable nation.

I wasn't a normal professor. I had worked in government. I hadn't written nine zillion books. I was a hands-on professor.

The purpose of foreign policy is to persuade others to do what we want or, better yet, to want what we want.

Democracy cannot be built on revenge and you will not have the support of the world if you are intolerant and take the law into your own hands.

I can't go out with a Republican.

When we're trying to solve difficult national issues its sometimes necessary to talk to adversaries as well as friends. Historians have a word for this: diplomacy.

When Hillary served in the Senate, I saw her work day and night as a member of the Armed Services Committee - working with Republicans and Democrats to keep our military strong and protect our troops and their families.

People are finding it harder and harder to relate to foreign policy.

The world would be entirely different if it were run by women. I think it is true that we are more seeking consensus and don't have such big egos and have a variety of different ways of trying to get along. But anybody who says that the world would be better has forgotten high school. It depends on who the women are.

Our strategic dialogue with China can both protect American interests and uphold our principles, provided we are honest about our differences on human rights and other issues and provided we use a mix of targeted incentives and sanctions to narrow these differences.

A lot of people think international relations is like a game of chess. But it's not a game of chess, where people sit quietly, thinking out their strategy, taking their time between moves. It's more like a game of billiards, with a bunch of balls clustered together.

The Framework Agreement is one of the best things the [Clinton] Administration has done because it stopped a nuclear weapons program in North Korea.

Freedon succeeds from the moment people stop looking to others to improve their lives and start taking responsibility.

Take it from someone who fled the Iron Curtain: I know what happens when you give the Russians a green light.

For somebody who loves foreign policy, being Secretary is the best job in the world - but it doesn't happen twice.

I get up every morning and I'm grateful for everything that has happened. I go through my list about being grateful for my children and grandchildren, and for the really remarkable life that I have been able to have.

Peace is not a spectator sport

We will not be intimidated or pushed off the world stage by people who do not like what we stand for, and that is, freedom, democracy and the fight against disease, poverty and terrorism.

Nobody's ever said that pins are a tool of diplomacy.

People didn't think that a woman could be the Secretary of State, when my name was out there ... but then the Arab Ambassadors at the UN said 'We have no problem dealing with Ambassador Albright, and we would have no problem dealing with Secretary Albright.'

I think that a president needs to have a variety of views presented. But also, there has to be a team effort, because otherwise, I think it creates a dissonance and difficulty.

I think that we all know what evil is. We have a sense of what's evil, and certainly killing innocent people is evil. We're less sure about what is good. There's sort of good, good enough, could be better - but absolute good is a little harder to define.

I enjoy wearing pins, and nobody tells me to do it.

Hussein has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies.

I really do think about the fact that every day counts. I believe that every individual counts, and so I believe that every day counts and I try not to waste it.

Life is grim, and we don't have to be grim all the time.

Don't make me into this airy-fairy, moralist, idealist because I'm not.

There's Madeleine, and then there's 'Madeleine Albright'. And I sometimes kind of think, who is this person? Once you become 'Madeleine Albright' it doesn't go away.

I've never seen America as an imperialist or colonialist or meddling country.

Jewels have played a colorful part in the evolution of world affairs. Because precious stones tend to inspire both admiration and greed, leaders have found convenient excuses for seeking them and have used them to impress crowds, reward friends, deprive foes, forge alliances, and justify war. Jewels may find their highest expression in the decorative arts, but they have also earned a place in the art of the possible.

We are very hip on the fact that America's always No. 1. On this we are not, in terms of the number of women in our legislative branches and obviously as head of state. We need to push on that. I hate to say this: It isn't all men's fault. I think some of it is our own attitude and approach. Some of it very healthy, that women want to make choices about their lives and how they want to spend their time, and what they value.

The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. You're trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that aren't very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product.

Today, I say that no nation in the world need be left out of the global system we are constructing.

I loved being Secretary of State, that's probably evident to everyone who watched me.

I spent my life studying communism and Soviet systems.

The bottom line is, the more we have a cadre of women moving up the scale, and it doesn't seem threatening, and people realize that women actually work much harder than men, and realize that they need more women in these jobs, I think that goes away.

US is a very religious country. Separation of church and state is part of our credo, but that it is hard to understand since our money says "In God we trust" and every President says "God bless America".

Glass ceilings have been broken, but more have to be broken.

No matter what message you are about to deliver somewhere, whether it is holding out a hand of friendship, or making clear that you disapprove of something, is the fact that the person sitting across the table is a human being, so the goal is to always establish common ground.

The magic of America is that we're a free and open society with a mixed population. Part of our security is our freedom.

So there really was a whole series of things that took the women of my generation a little bit of time to push forward.

There is plenty of room in the world for mediocre men but there is no room for mediocre women.

We must be authors of the history of our age.

What distinguishes Americans from many people in the world is our kind of endemic optimism.

Jewelry and pins have been worn throughout history as symbols of power, sending messages. Interestingly enough, it was mostly men who wore the jewelry in various times, and obviously crowns were part of signals that were being sent throughout history by people of rank.

Libraries are fun, educational, and the biggest bargain on the face of the earth.

I bought ... the pins with my three daughters in mind; the ships are beautiful, graceful, and moving along at full sail, having long since left home port.

Women are more than 50% of almost every country in the world. Countries rob themselves of the resources of women if they keep them as property. It isn't that women can't find work. It's just that women don't get paid for their work and are not recognized properly. It's something that has to be on the international agenda all the time.

I think there has to be the sense that once you have climbed the ladder of success, that you don't push it away from the building.

Even before I went to the UN, I often would want to say something in a meeting - only woman at the table - and I'd think, 'OK well, I don't think I'll say that. It may sound stupid.' And then some man says it, and everybody thinks it's completely brilliant, and you are so mad at yourself for not saying something.

I do believe that in order to be a successful negotiator that as a diplomat, you have to be able to put yourself into the other person's shoes. Unless you can understand what is motivating them, you are never going to be able to figure out how to solve a particular problem.

To understand Europe, you have to be a genius - or French.

I don't think people should think of women's issues as auxiliary issues - they are central.

You can't just think that you will get a job for no good reason ... And I think that the other part is you have to work your way up, you know I did a lot of Xeroxing and getting coffee ... I always did what I was asked to do. I delivered. People knew that I would get things done and get them done well. And that is a big part of our resumes, are based on being responsible and being willing to do what needed to be done.

I have said this many times, that there seems to be enough room in the world for mediocre men, but not for mediocre women, and we really have to work very, very hard.

And frankly, I don't understand - I mean, I'm obviously a card-carrying Democrat - but I can't understand why any woman would want to vote for Mitt Romney, except maybe Mrs. Romney.

We went to the same college so I know [Hillary Clinton's] study habits, but when she was first lady of Arkansas, she did a lot of things already for children, and she was head of the Children's Defense Fund, and that's how I first heard her or met her, she was very very involved in really a very important social program to do something about children and women and education.

The process of education in the oldest profession in the world is like any other educational process, in that it requires time andeffort and patience; it can only be acquired by taking one step at a time, though the steps become accelerated after the first few.

And so I think that the idea of America working with other countries to solve problems is good for us, and it is part of digging us out of the 'my way or the highway' approach that was evident in the previous eight years.

Mahmoud Abbas is a puppet.

Women can't do everything at the same time, we need to understand milestones in our lives comes in segments.

I think the personal relationships I established mattered in terms of what I was able to get done. And I did bring women's issues to the center of our foreign policy.

It's one thing to be religious, but it's another thing to make religion your policy.

I have been in meetings where a head of state will say, 'I like your tie,' to a man ... or, 'I like your country because the weather's good,' or whatever. So for me, the pins in some ways were openers.

As a leader, you have to have the ability to assimilate new information and understand that there might be a different view.

We have a responsibility in our time, as others have had in theirs, not to be prisoners of history but to shape history, a responsibility to fill the role of path-finder, and to build with others a global network of purpose and law.

Well I do think, when there are more women, that the tone of the conversation changes, and also the goals of the conversation change. But it doesn't mean that the whole world would be a lot better if it were totally run by women. If you think that, you've forgotten high school.

To put it mildly, the world is a mess

Only in America could a refugee girl from Central Europe become secretary of state.

Embrace the faith that every challenge surmounted by your energy; every problem solved by your wisdom; every soul stirred by your passion; and every barrier to justice brought down by your determination will ennoble your life, inspire others, serve your country, and explode outward the boundaries of what is achievable on this earth.

I never dreamed about one day becoming Secretary of State. It's not that I was modest; it's just that I had never seen a Secretary of State in a skirt.

As you go along your road in life, you will, if you aim high enough, also meet resistance ... But no matter how tough the opposition may seem, have courage still and persevere.

Every new president inherits headaches, but President Obama has inherited an entire emergency room.

I was a little girl in World War II and I'm used to being freed by Americans.

In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed its actions were justified for strategic reasons, but the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's political development and it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs.

The administration does not agree with those who suggest we should deploy hundreds of thousands of American troops to engage militarily in a ground war in Iraq.