Who Is She?:
Condoleeza Rice was born November 14, 1954, in Birmingham, Alabama. Her father was a Presbyterian minister, and she grew up in the midst of America's civil rights movement. Rice heard and felt the explosion at Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church where four girls - including a schoolmate of Rice - were killed on September 15, 1963. In 1969, Rice's family moved to Denver, Colorado.
Education:
Rice enrolled at the Univeristy of Denver as a music major. But she shortly switched to political science after a class with Professor Josef Korbel, the father of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. After graduation in 1974, she earned a master's degree from Notre Dame in 1975 and returned to the University of Denver for a Ph.D. which she received in 1981.
Experience:
Rice became the 66th U.S. Secretary of State on January 26, 2005. She served in that role until January 20, 2009.
Prior to this Rice was:
- National Security Advisor for President George W. Bush (2001-2005)
- Provost of Stanford University (1993-1999)
- Senior Director of Soviet and East European Affairs for President George H. W. Bush (1989-1991)
Statements:
Fun Facts:
- Secretary Rice is the first African-American woman to lead the U.S. State Department
- Her first name comes from a musical expression, Con dolcezza, which means "with sweetness."
- In 2006, the international press gave a lot of attention to Rice's relationship with Foreign Minister of Canada Peter MacKay. Rice has never married.