Mass burial for Madeleine Albright in Washington … Biden hails her: a giant diplomatic figure

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday praised former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, describing her at her funeral as “one of the giant diplomatic figures,” highlighting the journey of a refugee child who became the first woman to become the US State Department.

Albright, who also served as the US ambassador to the United Nations, passed away on March 23 at the age of 84, after suffering from cancer.

More than 1,400 people attended the funeral, which was held at the National Cathedral in Washington and broadcast by television stations, during which Biden, former US President Bill Clinton, who appointed Albright as Secretary of State, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered eulogy.

Among the dignitaries who attended the burial were former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, members of the Biden administration, including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, CIA Director William Burns, and officials at the Departments of Defense and State.

Biden praised Albright, and said that its achievements in the post-Cold War era still resonate, especially in the face of NATO’s confrontation with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biden said, “Madeleine was a large part of the reason why NATO maintained its strength,” referring to the current conflict, which is witnessing an “intense confrontation between authoritarian and democratic countries.”

The US president said Albright “changed the course of history” with her view of “what American power can achieve.”

He pointed out that “its name is still synonymous with America as a benevolent power in the world,” and added that “her story is the story of America. She loved to talk about America as an indispensable nation.”

Many compared her influence on the international level to the role of Margaret Thatcher in Britain in the eighties of the last century.

Born in Czechoslovakia, Albright fled to London with her family as Nazi influence rose on the eve of World War II. She entered the United States as a child refugee in 1948 with the Soviet communist expansion into Eastern Europe after World War II.

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