IMAGE Madeleine Albright Kim Jong-il with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Madeleine Korbel Albright, née Marie Jana Korbelová (b. 1937 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic), served as the 64th United States Secretary of State. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. Albright was the first female Secretary of State, which in turn made her the highest ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.