I was to find throughout my years as Secretary that travel was an efficient use of time because face-to-face meetings were action-forcing and the best possible way to size up others whether friend, foe, or in between. As both U.N. Ambassador and Secretary of State Official International Travel of Madeleine Albright 1993 1997 June 11 12 2000 June 30 July 3 July 18 21 December 16 Switzerland, Somalia, Maldives, Thailand, Cambodia Mexico, El Salvador Hungary February 15 25 March 19 22 Italy, Germany, France,,, Russia, Republic of Korea, Japan, China Finland June 24 July 4 July 24 August 2 China, Japan Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand January 14 16 January 27 February 3 February 17 19 Colombia, Panama, Mexico Switzerland, Russia, Croatia Croatia, Albania 1994 April 30 May 2 May 4 10 Russia Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Barbados August 12 13 August 17 19 Germany Kenya, Tanzania March 2 11 Portugal, Czech Republic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, January 4 13 Germany, Croatia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic,, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Albania, Romania, Netherlands May 25 June 1 June 25 July 1 France, Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina Vietnam, Hong Kong August 29 September 3 October 5 8 Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia, Austria, Israel, Palestinian Authority,, March 17 26 April 13 19 Italy, India, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Pakistan, Oman Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan March 25 April 5 South Africa, Mozambique, Croatia, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Sudan, Italy, Brazil, Argentina July 6 14 Spain, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Russia, Lithuania, Czech Republic November 13 16 December 7 10 Malaysia, France May 23 26 May 29 June 5 Italy, Portugal, Germany, Russia, Israel, Egypt May 8 9 Canada July 25 30 Malaysia, Singapore December 12 15 Israel, Palestinian Authority, Jordan June 5 7 Israel, Palestinian Authority, Egypt August 26 September 6 November 24 December 14 16 February 23 March 2 March 31 May 1 6, 1995 September 3 12 November 16 17 December 8 9 January 12 13 January 17 22 February 6 March 19 23 April 25 30 July 2 7 July 16 20 August 28 September 4 Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia 1995, Oman, Kuwait, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Honduras Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Czech Republic China, Burma, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia Israel 1996 Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina Liberia, Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, Egypt, Switzerland, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Norway, Sweden, France Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Austria Greece, Cyprus, Turkey Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia September 9 15 October 12 17 November 13 24 December 4 18 December 21 23 January 28 February 3 March 5 10 March 23 25 April 4 6 April 15 20 April 26 May 9 May 16 18 May 27 29 June 1 2 June 3 5 Israel, Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina,, Switzerland, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Canada, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Zimbabwe,, France Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy 1998 France, Spain,, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Palestinian Authority Ukraine, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Canada Italy, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago Chile Russia, Japan, China, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Luxembourg Venezuela Switzerland January 24 29 February 13 15 February 19 23 February 27 March 7 March 10 11 April 11 13 May 4 6 June 6 11 June 15 22 July 23 30 September 1 13 October 17 24 October 31 November 2 November 14 23 December 5 9 December 16 18 1999 Russia, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France, Mexico France China, Thailand, Indonesia, Guatemala, Norway, Germany Germany,, Macedonia Switzerland, France, Finland, Germany, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria Singapore, Italy, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Vietnam, New Zealand Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania Norway Turkey, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Kosovo Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel, Egypt Germany, France June 12 13 June 21 29 July 26 August 2 August 14 19 August 30 31 September 29 October 5 October 15 18 October 22 26 November 13 18 November 25 27 November 30 December 2 December 6 12 December 12 16 January 10 12 Syria China, Republic of Korea, Poland, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Germany Thailand, Japan, Italy, Russia Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia Colombia Iceland, France, Germany, Egypt Egypt, Saudi Arabia Democratic People s Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea Brunei Austria Mexico South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Algeria Hungary, 2001 Spain, France
Former Yugoslav Federation, 1991 Europe Born in Czechoslovakia, Albright holds a special place in her heart for that part of the world. After the fall of communism in 1989, she met the new president Václav Havel and forged a friendship that would last many years. In 1997, Albright was awarded the Order of the White Lion by Havel for her years of work on behalf of democracy. (In 1992, Czechoslovakia divided peacefully into two parts: the Czech Republic and Slovakia). Yugoslavia was another story. When the Cold War ended, the country broke apart. Brutal wars broke out among various ethnic factions in Bosnia and later in Kosovo. At Albright s urging, NATO intervened to halt Flag of Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1992 1998 the terror and violence. Today the region includes the independent countries of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. Albright and her European counterparts were greatly concerned about the violent break-up of Yugoslavia. She made multiple trips to the region, including 8 trips to Bosnia-Herzegovina, 8 trips to Croatia, 2 trips to Kosovo and 1 trip to Serbia-Montenegro. Order of the White Lion, 1997; Office of the President (Czech Republic). Photo by Rhinestone Fleur-de-Lis, c. 1993. Photo by John Bigelow Taylor. I explained to Congress why we should care whether Bosnia held together in peace or fell apart in renewed conflict., Albright often conferred with such counterparts in Europe as foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the : Lion pin from Foreign Secretary Robin Cook Cook s Lion, c. 1970; Judith Leiber (US). Photo by Russian lacquerstyle pin from Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov Primakov s Snowy Scene, c. 1997; Designer unknown (US). Photo by French design flower from France s Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine Védrine s French Design, 1997; Designer unknown (France). Photo by John Bigelow Taylor.
American Flag, 2000; Robert Sorrell (US). Photo by Every other North Korean I met wore a pin bearing the face of Kim Il Sung [the father of Kim Jong-il]. I wore my largest American flag pin. North Korea Albright traveled to Pyongyang, North Korea, in October 2000 to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il about its development of long-range missiles and potential nuclear weapons. It was the first visit of a U.S. Secretary of State to the Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
I wanted to travel to Kenya and Tanzania to express my condolences and see what more we could do to help. Angel, c. 1998; Designer unknown (US). Photo by Large Zebra, c. 1997; Kuo, (US). Photo by I wore my favorite zebra pins when I met Nelson Mandela. It was like having George Washington introduce himself. As both U.N. Ambassador and Secretary of State Africa During her years as Secretary of State (1997 2001) and U.S. Ambassador to the UN (1993 1997), Albright made seven major trips to the African continent. Of these, one marked the saddest of occasions, and another was one of the most inspiring. After the 1998 terrorist-bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed hundreds of embassy personnel and local citizens, Albright accompanied the bodies of Americans on the journey back to the U.S. and later visited the sites where the bombings took place. In 1997, she traveled to South Africa and met with President Nelson Mandela, who had taught the world a profound lesson about choosing reconciliation over revenge. As U.S. Ambassador to the UN July 1993 Somalia March 1994 South Africa, Mozambique and Sudan January 1996 Liberia, Angola, Burundi and Rwanda December 1997 August 1998 October 1999 December 2000 Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, South Africa, and Zimbabwe Tanzania and Kenya Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Algeria
Bee, c. 1980; Designer unknown, (US). Photo by I spent many hours wrangling with the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat about the need for compromise in the Middle East if I wanted to deliver a sharp message, I often wore a bee. Lion, 1968; Kenneth Jay Lane (US). Photo by In her 1997 meeting with Syrian President Hafez al-assad, whose name means lion in Arabic, she wore a lion pin. In 2000, she would attend his funeral. Middle East Secretary of State Albright met with leaders in the Middle East on a range of issues, from U.N. sanctions and weapons inspections in Iraq, to economic development and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. She traveled to Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. In addition to meetings in the U.S. attempting to work out a Middle East peace agreement, Albright made 7 trips to the Palestinian Authority and 10 trips to Israel during her tenure as Secretary of State and U.S. Ambassador to the UN.