Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American former diplomat and political scientist. She was the 66th United States secretary of state and 19th national security advisor under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005 and 2005 to 2009.

Rice was born in Birmingham, Alabama as the only child to John W. Rice. She grew up in the Southern United States where it was racially segregated. She got a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Denver and her master's degree from the University of Notre Dame.

In 1981, Rice got a Doctor of Philosophy from the School of International Studies at the University of Denver. She worked at the U.S. Department of State under President Jimmy Carter. She served on the National Security Council to President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1991. In 2001, Rice became the U.S. national security advisor under President George W. Bush. In 2005, she became the U.S. secretary of State. Since 2020, she has been the 8th director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

 Biography 

 Early life and education 
Condoleezza Rice was born on November 14, 1954, in Birmingham, Alabama, to John Wesley Rice Jr. and Angelena Ray. Her father was Presbyterian minister and counselor and taught at Tuskegee Institute and later at the University of Denver, while her mother was a schoolteacher. 

Rice and her family lived in Birmingham until 1967, and afterwards moved to Denver, Colorado, for her father’s new job at the University of Denver. She attended St. Mary’s Academy, a private school in Denver, where she was one of only a few African American students. By the time she was in high school, Rice studied political science, international relations, and history, where she attended Denver East High School.

In 1970, she attended the University of Denver at 16, where majored in political science and minored in music. She later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1974. 

After completing her undergraduate degree, she first attended the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where she earned a master’s degree in political science in 1975.

 Early career 
In 1977, Rice worked for the State Department during the Carter administration as an intern in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. She also studied Russian at Moscow State University in the summer of 1979, and interned with the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California.

From 1980 to 1981, she was a fellow at Stanford University's Arms Control and Disarmament Program, having won a Ford Foundation Dual Expertise Fellowship in Soviet Studies and International Security. Rice was one of only four women studying international security at Stanford at the time.

From February 1989 through March 1991, Rice served on President George H. W. Bush’s National Security Council staff. She served as Director, then Senior Director of Soviet and East European Affairs, as well as Special Assistant to the President for National Security. In 1986, while an International Affairs Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, Rice also served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

 Early political views 
Rice was initially a Democrat and became critical of the foreign policy stance of President Jimmy Carter's administration. She disagreed with Carter's approach to handling the Soviet Union and the Cold War tensions. In 1982, she left the Democratic Party and became a Republican. 

 Academic career 
Rice’s academic career began after she completed her graduate studies with a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Denver. In 1981, she accepted a faculty position at Stanford University in California and joined Stanford’s Department of Political Science, a department known for its focus on international relations, political theory, and security studies. As a professor, Rice taught courses in political science, including classes on international relations, U.S. foreign policy, and the Cold War. 

 Provost 
In 1993, Rice was appointed as provost of Stanford University, and made history becoming the first woman and the first African American to hold this position. As provost, Rice was the chief academic officer of Stanford University, where she oversaw the university’s academic operations and budget. 

She oversaw the university’s 15 schools and departments, managing faculty appointments and promotions, and overseeing resources for research programs, graduate education, and undergraduate instruction. Rice also played a key role in representing Stanford’s academic interests to external stakeholders, including donors, the media, and government agencies.

 U.S. National Security Advisor (2001–2005) 
In 2001, Rice became the 19th U.S. national security advisor to President George W. Bush. She made history as the first woman and first African-American woman to hold the position.

 The 9/11 Attacks 
When Al-Qaeda carried out coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, Rice took part in establishing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002, to prevent future terrorist attacks.

 War on Terror and the Invasion of Afghanistan 
Following the Bush administration’s launch of the War on Terror, Rice worked with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, CIA Director George Tenet, and other officials for launching Operation Enduring Freedom, a U.S.-led military intervention aimed at dismantling Al-Qaeda’s operations and overthrowing the Taliban regime.

 The Iraq War 
In 2003, The Bush administration decision to invade Iraq believing Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and could potentially use them against the United States or provide them to terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. This belief became a central justification for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, despite the lack of evidence that Hussein had an active WMD program.

 U.S. Secretary of State (2005–2009) 
In 2005, Rice became the 66th U.S. secretary of State, and made history became the first African-American woman to hold this position. As secretary of state, Rice and the Bush administration was deeply focused on two major international issues: the War on Terror, following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the hope democracy in the Middle East. These two issues were central to Rice’s diplomatic agenda, which she carried out with a clear commitment to promoting democratic values and securing international cooperation in confronting global threats.

 Transformational Diplomacy 
As secretary of state, Rice introduced her initiative "Transformational Diplomacy", which was to use U.S. diplomacy to maintain peace, stability, promote democracy, human rights, and economic development. Key ideas included:

• Helping countries under authoritarian rule transition to a democracy.

• Encouraging democratic reforms in the Middle East.

• Building strong relationships with countries open to reform and change.

• Focusing on development to support economic growth, education, and improving living conditions in countries in diplomatic efforts.

• Supporting peaceful transitions to democracy, protecting human rights, and building civil society.

 Post–Bush administration (2009–present) 
After the Bush administration ended in 2009, Rice continued to be publicly active. In 2020, she became the 8th director of the Hoover Institution, a prominent conservative think tank at Stanford University.

 Honorary degrees 
Rice has received several honorary degrees from various American universities, including
StateYearSchoolDegree Georgia1991Morehouse CollegeDoctor of Laws (LL.D)1994University of AlabamaDoctor of Humane Letters (DHL)1995University of Notre DameDoctor of Laws (LL.D)Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to speak at Notre Dame - website of Notre Dame NewsHonorary Degree Recipients, 1849-2024 - website commencement of the University of Notre Dame2002National Defense UniversityDoctor of National Security AffairsList of Honorary Degree Recipients - website of the National Defense University2003Mississippi College School of LawDoctor of Laws (LL.D)2004University of LouisvilleDoctor of Public Service (DPS)2004Michigan State UniversityDoctor of Humane Letters (DHL)2006Boston CollegeDoctor of Laws (LL.D)2008Air UniversityDoctor of Letters (D.Litt.)2010Johnson C. Smith UniversityDoctor of Laws (LL.D)2012Southern Methodist UniversityDoctor of Laws (LL.D)2015College of William and MaryDoctor of Public Service (DPS)2018Sewanee: The University of the SouthDoctor of Civil Law (DCL)2021Siena CollegeDoctor of Humane Letters (DHL)

 Honors 

 National

 55x55px|ribbon bar Ellis Island Medal of Honor

 Foreign

 55x55px|ribbon bar Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland, 1998)M.P. 1998 nr 10 poz. 184
 55x55px|ribbon bar Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Romania (Romania, 2003)DECRET nr. 677 din 24 octombrie 2003
 55x55px|ribbon bar Member 1st Class of the Order of the Balkan Mountains (Bulgaria, 2007)Remarks at Stara Planina Awards Ceremony - website of the United States Department of State
 55x55px|ribbon bar Grand Cross with Gold Badge of the Order of San Carlos (Colombia, 2009)
 55x55px|ribbon bar Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan, 2017)

 Published works 

 Rice, Condoleezza (1984). The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army: Uncertain Allegiance. Princeton University Press. 
 Rice, Condoleezza & Dallin, Alexander (eds.) (1986). The Gorbachev Era. Stanford Alumni Association, trade paperback (1986), ; Garland Publishing, Incorporated, hardcover (1992), 376 pages, .
 Rice, Condoleezza with Zelikow, Philip D. (1995). Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft.  Harvard University Press.  (1995), 520 pp., .
 Rice, Condoleezza, "Campaign 2000: Promoting the National Interest" in Foreign Affairs, 2000.
 Rice, Condoleezza, with Kiron K. Skinner, Serhiy Kudelia, and Bruce Bueno de Mesquita (2007). The Strategy of Campaigning: Lessons from Ronald Reagan and Boris Yeltsin , paperback, 356 pp., . University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
 Rice, Condoleezza (2010), Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family, Crown Archetype, 
 Rice, Condoleezza (2011), No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington.  Crown Archetype, 
 Rice, Condoleezza (2017), Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom, Twelve, 496 pp., .


References

 Official websites 



Category:1954 births
Category:Living people
Category:African-American politicians
Category:Stanford University faculty
Category:American political scientists
Category:American Presbyterians
Category:Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama
Category:United States National Security Advisors
Category:United States Secretaries of State
Category:Educators from Birmingham, Alabama