Madeleine Albright, pictured in 2017.Photo: EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS
"We are heartbroken to announce that Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, the 64th U.S. Secretary of State and the first woman to hold that position, passed away earlier today," her family said on Twitter.
"The cause was cancer," the tweet added.
Albright, who was born in the former Czechoslovakia in 1937, served as US secretary of state from 1997 to 2001.
In her later years, Albright became an icon and inspiration for many women looking for respect in the workplace, the Reuters news agency reported.
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Source: PAP, Reuters