Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright passed away on Wednesday. Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as Secretary of State of the United States, died recently, and a number of powerful figures in our nation's capital have resorted to social media to share their condolences.

Albright, who was 84 years old, died of cancer on Wednesday. She was "surrounded by her family and friends," according to a statement from her family, and various lawmakers commented on her life and death after hearing of her demise.

Lawmakers Remember Madeleine Albright

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke on her early life as a refugee who fled the Nazis and Soviet Communism, describing her as a woman who embodied the American dream and motivated women and children around the globe.

Madeleine Albright was one-of-a-kind and first-of-a kind

As a refugee who fled the Nazis and Soviet Communism, she embodied the American dream in rising to become our first female Secretary of State

A titan in American history—her story inspired women and girls across the globe https://t.co/S6N5tYM8sS

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 23, 2022

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a Democrat, noted in her post that Madeleine Albright "broke barriers" in her life and inspired others in the process. Albright was described as a "trailblazer" and a "committed public servant" by Democratic Florida Representative Val Demmings.

Former presidential contender and Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar also spoke about Albright's role as a trailblazer. "We've achieved so much progress because of strong women like her," she wrote, "and so much more is possible."

Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate Minority Leader, issued a statement and said on Twitter that he was "grieved to learn that our nation has lost former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright."

I was grieved to learn that our nation has lost former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. My prayers are with Secretary Albright’s family and all who mourn her loss. My full statement: https://t.co/w9i8vSuQBo

— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) March 23, 2022

According to Newsweek, her family requested political asylum in the United States in 1948, claiming that they were unable to return home as opponents of their country's communist rule. In 1957, she became a US citizen.

Madeleine Albright later worked as a foreign policy adviser to a number of vice-presidential and presidential candidates after working in the White House during Jimmy Carter's presidency. Albright's first diplomatic mission came shortly after Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993 when she was named ambassador to the United Nations.

Per BBC News, Albright re-entered the public eye just a month ago, on the brink of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with a New York Times editorial criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom she first met shortly after he took office in 2000.

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Who Is Madeleine Albright?

According to Fox News, Madeleine Albright or Marie Jana Korbel was born on May 15, 1937, in Czechoslovakia, and moved to the United States with her family in 1948, following a communist takeover. Her family was Jewish until she was five years old when she converted to Roman Catholicism.

Three of her grandparents were Jewish and perished in detention camps. Albright stated she didn't find out about her family's Jewish ancestry until after she was appointed Secretary of State.

She later worked in former President Bill Clinton's administration, first as the United States ambassador to the United Nations and then as Secretary of State during his second term. As Secretary of State, she was instrumental in persuading the Senate to approve NATO's expansion into former Soviet republics and ratify nuclear non-proliferation accords.

Because of how Kosovar Albanians were handled in 1999, she also helped persuade Clinton to go to war against Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic. Despite her tenure in the Clinton administration, she remained outspoken and critical of the Bush government's foreign policies after 9/11. Former President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

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