“She changed the course of history, her legacy continues to be honored in Kosovo, Bosnia and elsewhere,” were some of the words used by US leaders for former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who died on March 23rd.
Led by US President Joe Biden and his predecessors, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, some 1,400 people gathered April 27 at Washington National Cathedral to commemorate her accomplishments.
President Biden praised Albright’s contribution.
“Her name is still synonymous with America as a force for good in the world,” Biden said, recalling that during her service as ambassador to the United Nations and later as secretary of state, Albright helped “stop the genocide in Balkans “.
“With her kindness, humanism and intellect, she changed the course of history. “We honor a proud American today, who made us all more proud to be Americans,” Biden said.
Former US President Bill Clinton recalled his last trip with Albright to Kosovo, on the 20th anniversary of NATO intervention.
He said Albright’s legacy for his contribution to Kosovo, Bosnia and other countries continues to be honored.
Former US President Bill Clinton recalled his last trip with Albright to Kosovo, on the 20th anniversary of NATO intervention.
He said Albright’s legacy for his contribution to Kosovo, Bosnia and other countries continues to be honored.
“We spent a happy day together two years ago in Kosovo, 20 years after the conflict there. We freed them from the real danger of genocide. We walked hand in hand on the streets of Prishtina, on a sunny June day. A quarter of a million people took to the streets, which is a large number of people in a small country like Kosovo. And we got to the subject of our walk, which was a beautiful bust of Madeleine that was their homage to her help. “We see the honor of her heritage for all the things she has done for Kosovo, Bosnia and we see it in many ways,” he said.
“Today with us is the president, former president and prime minister of Kosovo. Also here is the former Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina. “The Srebrenica massacre had to take place in order to have enough people gathered to do what is being done today in another way in an attempt to save Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, the former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said that the war in Ukraine requires the world to once again follow the example of Albright and the purpose she had during her work as Secretary of State.
“Rise up against dictators and demagogues, from the battlefields of Ukraine to the corridors of our institutions, defend democracy at home as resolutely as we do abroad,” Clinton said.
Incumbent Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his predecessors, Condoleezza Rice and John Kerry, were also present at the memorial service.
Other senior officials were present at the ceremony, including: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, CIA Director Bill Burns, and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
Among the foreign authorities who participated were the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, the Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the former President Atifete Jahjaga as well as senior officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic and Colombia.
Through a Facebook post, Osmani said Albright was a powerful voice for the people of Kosovo.
“We are forever grateful for Secretary Albright’s extraordinary contribution to ending the Serb genocide in Kosovo, as well as her continued support for a free, independent, developed Kosovo with a well-deserved place in the international arena,” wrote Osmani.
