Born: November 14, 1954
Place of Birth: Birmingham, Alabama
Major Notes:
Condoleezza Rice was the first black woman to be appointed as the US Secretary of State.
Her father was a school guidance counselor and part-time minister and her mother was a music teacher.
At eight years old, she had a schoolmate, Denise McNair, killed by white supremacists in the bombing of a mostly black Baptist church in Birmingham.
This event impressed on Rice how harmful the power of segregation could be.
In her youth, Condoleezza Rice was encouraged to take up the piano and she became an accomplished pianist.
Rice was a superior student and by age 19, she received her first degree in Political Science from the University of Denver where her father worked as an administrator.
She followed up with a Master's degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1975.
In 1977 Rice worked in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs under the Carter administration.
By 1980, she had switched her affiliation from the Democrats to the Republicans.
Rice received her Doctor's degree in 1981 from the University of Denver and accepted a position at Stanford University.
She had her doctorate in International Studies which also involved language training and Rice became proficient in Russian, Spanish, and French.
Popular with the students, Rice was also the Provost at Stanford from 1993 to 1999.
Serving on its Board of Directors, Chevron named an oil tanker Condoleezza Rice but later changed the name due to political sensitivity.
Starting in 1986, she accepted to work in many political appointed positions giving advice and helping for policies for George H.W. Bush.
In 2000, Condoleezza Rice became the foreign policy advisor for George W. Bush during his election campaign for President.
After the election, taking advantage of her expertise, Rice was chosen by Bush to be his National Security Advisor.
Rice was a major spokesperson for supporting the move to go to war with Iraq.
In 2005, Condoleezza Rice was confirmed for the position of Secretary of State by a vote of 85-13 and became fourth in line of succession to be President.
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