The world has lost a political trailblazer: Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve in that role, has passed away at the age of 84.
Albright's family announced her death on social media on Wednesday, March 23. "We are heartbroken to announced that Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, the 64th U.S. Secretary of State and the first woman to hold that position, passed away earlier today," their message read. "The cause was cancer. She was surrounded by family and friends. We have lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend."
A Prague native who came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1948, Albright served as the Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. In 2012, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
At the time of her death, among her many accolades, Albright was a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
As news of the pioneering politician's death emerged, admirers honored her online.
"Madeleine Albright, the 1st woman to hold the position of U.S. Secretary of State, has died," tennis icon Billie Jean King tweeted. "I've had the honor of spending time with her over the years. She possessed a brilliant mind & a trailblazing spirit. My deepest sympathies go out to her loved ones. #RememberHerName."
Meghan McCain tweeted, "Madeline Albright was a champion of all women in politics. A glass ceiling breaker, one of the strongest voices on the world stage, an American legend. We mourn the passing of great American lives like hers deeply. Prayers to her loved ones and family."
President Joe Biden also released a statement to celebrate her career as a scholar, teacher, author and businesswoman. He said that working with Albright during his time on the Foreign Relations Committee in the 1990s was "among the highlights of my career in the United States Senate." Biden shared, "She was an immigrant fleeing persecution. A refugee in need of safe haven. And like so many before her—and after—she was proudly American."