Madeleine Albright
It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.Collection: Time
Maybe if everybody in leadership was a woman, you might not get into the conflicts in the first place. But if you watch the women who have made it to the top, they haven't exactly been non-aggressive - including me.Collection: Leadership
The magic of America is that we're a free and open society with a mixed population. Part of our security is our freedom.Collection: Society
Jewelry and pins have been worn throughout history as symbols of power, sending messages. Interestingly enough, it was mostly men who wore the jewelry in various times, and obviously crowns were part of signals that were being sent throughout history by people of rank.Collection: History
No matter what message you are about to deliver somewhere, whether it is holding out a hand of friendship, or making clear that you disapprove of something, is the fact that the person sitting across the table is a human being, so the goal is to always establish common ground.Collection: Friendship
Women can't do everything at the same time, we need to understand milestones in our lives comes in segments.Collection: Women
Most of the time I spend when I get up in the morning is trying to figure out what is going to happen.Collection: Morning
If we have to use force, it is because we are America. We are the indispensable nation. We stand tall. We see further into the future.Collection: Future
I think women want to take care of themselves, and I think having a voice in how that is done is very important.Collection: Women
But I do not believe that the world would be entirely different if there were more women leaders. Maybe if everybody in leadership was a woman, you might not get into the conflicts in the first place. But if you watch the women who have made it to the top, they haven't exactly been non-aggressive - including me.Collection: Leadership
I was a little girl in World War II and I'm used to being freed by Americans.Collection: War
Women have to be active listeners and interrupters - but when you interrupt, you have to know what you are talking about.Collection: Women
While democracy in the long run is the most stable form of government, in the short run, it is among the most fragile.Collection: Government
Hillary Clinton will always be there for you. And just remember - there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other.Collection: Women
I have said this many times, that there seems to be enough room in the world for mediocre men, but not for mediocre women, and we really have to work very, very hard.Collection: Women
The only thing I have to go by is what my mother and father told me, how I was brought up.
I believe that my parents did wonderful things for us.
I didn't want to set up a women's studies program. I thought women should learn to operate in a coeducational atmosphere, because, especially in national security and international affairs, it's male-dominated.
I think women are really good at making friends and not good at networking. Men are good at networking and not necessarily making friends. That's a gross generalization, but I think it holds in many ways.
And so I think that the idea of America working with other countries to solve problems is good for us, and it is part of digging us out of the 'my way or the highway' approach that was evident in the previous eight years.
I loved what I did. I could've been secretary of state for ever.
I can't go out with a Republican.
And so I have studied, I have to tell you, revolutions and uprisings for a long time. They are all slightly different, but what they all look for is some kind of a mechanism to go from an authoritarian system to an open, democratic system.
I think that there is never an indispensable leader, you know? I think that there is a time with dignity that one needs to leave.
The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. You're trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that aren't very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product.
Well I do think, when there are more women, that the tone of the conversation changes, and also the goals of the conversation change. But it doesn't mean that the whole world would be a lot better if it were totally run by women. If you think that, you've forgotten high school.
I have always thought of myself as a Czechoslovak Catholic.
Because of my parents' love of democracy, we came to America after being driven twice from our home in Czechoslovakia - first by Hitler and then by Stalin.
People are finding it harder and harder to relate to foreign policy.
We live in an image society. Speeches are not what anybody cares about; what they care about is the picture.
I think I've revived the costume-jewelry industry.
Even before I went to the UN, I often would want to say something in a meeting - only woman at the table - and I'd think, 'OK well, I don't think I'll say that. It may sound stupid.' And then some man says it, and everybody thinks it's completely brilliant, and you are so mad at yourself for not saying something.
One of the things that was really an issue was I did not want to just be a woman secretary of state. I wanted to be a secretary of a state who was a woman, but not just chosen for that particular reason.
I have had fun being who I became, so to speak.
I have to tell you, my seven-year-old granddaughter said to my daughter, her mother, 'So what's the big deal about Grandma Maddy having been Secretary of State? Only girls are Secretaries of State.' Most of her lifetime, it's true. But at the time it really was a big deal.
As strong as the United States is, we can't deal with terrorism alone.
I know that war is very cruel and that life is harder when you aren't able to live in the place you called home.
For somebody who loves foreign policy, being Secretary is the best job in the world - but it doesn't happen twice.
I am a beneficiary of the American people's generosity, and I hope we can have comprehensive immigration legislation that allows this country to continue to be enriched by those who were not born here.
For me, being raised in a free America made all the difference.
If you look at U.S. history through religious history, there is very much a motif that shows the importance religion has played in the U.S. We're a very religious country and it affects the way we look at various political issues.
It's one thing to be religious, but it's another thing to make religion your policy.
I loved being Secretary of State, that's probably evident to everyone who watched me.
I think that a president needs to have a variety of views presented. But also, there has to be a team effort, because otherwise, I think it creates a dissonance and difficulty.
I have always seen the United States as a force of good. And I have learned that there is the idealistic part about what we can do at the U.N. and there is a doable part. And I have learned what is more doable.
Don't make me into this airy-fairy, moralist, idealist because I'm not.
Really, I have to laugh because there was a whole set of stories that made me sound like the Dragon Lady, you know, 'tough this and tough that.' Then there is this business about 'gooey.' The bottom line is I am a pragmatic idealist.
I wasn't a normal professor. I had worked in government. I hadn't written nine zillion books. I was a hands-on professor.
I am such a political person.
I saw what happened when a dictator was allowed to take over a piece of a country and the country went down the tubes. And I saw the opposite during the war when America joined the fight.