Quotes By Madeleine Albright

A lot of people think international relations is like a game of chess. But it's not a game of chess, where people sit quietly, thinking out their strategy, taking their time between moves. It's more like a game of billiards, with a bunch of balls clustered together.

You think that the heads of state only have serious conversations, but they actually often begin really with the weather or, 'I really like your tie.'

The magic of America is that we're a free and open society with a mixed population. Part of our security is our freedom.

One of the issues I kept saying to my students is you have to learn to interrupt. When you raise your hand at a meeting, by the time they get to you, the point is not germane. So the bottom line is active listening. If you are going to interrupt, you look for opportunities. You have to know what you're talking about.

As a leader, you have to have the ability to assimilate new information and understand that there might be a different view.

While democracy in the long run is the most stable form of government, in the short run, it is among the most fragile.

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 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.

Hate, emotionalism, and frustration are not policies.

I was a little girl in World War II and I'm used to being freed by Americans.

I was in Europe and it was at this stage that I fell in love with Americans in uniform. And I continue to have that love affair.

I can't imagine what it is like to be raised in a society where their only statues that exist are to you and your father.

NATO has been a thread throughout my life.

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.

I loved what I did. I could've been secretary of state for ever.

I loved being Secretary of State, that's probably evident to everyone who watched me.

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.

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.

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.

I think I've revived the costume-jewelry industry.

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.

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.

Don't make me into this airy-fairy, moralist, idealist because I'm not.

Most of the time I spend when I get up in the morning is trying to figure out what is going to happen.

We will not be intimidated or pushed off the world stage by people who do not like what we stand for, and that is, freedom, democracy and the fight against disease, poverty and terrorism.

For somebody who loves foreign policy, being Secretary is the best job in the world - but it doesn't happen twice.

I think that we had a different view of what the 21st century could be like, with much more of a sense, from our perspective, of trying to have an interdependent world: looking at solving regional conflicts, having strength in alliances, operating within some kind of a sense that we were part of the international community and not outside of it.

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.

There's Madeleine, and then there's 'Madeleine Albright'. And I sometimes kind of think, who is this person? Once you become 'Madeleine Albright' it doesn't go away.

Well, the thing that I learned as a diplomat is that human relations ultimately make a huge difference.