Condoleezza+Rice+(AddisF+++itzjames)

 Addis Fitzjames 5/17/12  2R

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice, the first black National Security Advisor, was born in Birmingham, Alabama on November 14, 1954. Her parents were college professors and had a big influence on her. She was exceptionally intelligent and and excelled in academics. Her parents tried to get her to enter first grade at age three. Somehow they got the principal to allow her to try the first grade at this young age, but she was very unhappy;she told her mother she didn’t want to go because her teacher wore the same skirt every day. Finally, her parents let her stop going to school, but their belief in the value of education was passed on to Condoleezza. Her parents believed that “...through education, hard work, perfectly spoken English, and an appreciation for the ‘finer things’ in ‘their’ culture...If you were twice as good as they were, ‘they might not like you, but ‘they’ had to respect you.” Condoleezza entered college at the age of 15 and earned “...three degrees including a doctorate in political science and earned her master’s in just one year.’When she first went to college, she intended to major in music and become a concert pianist. Then she took a class in International Politics from Josef Korbel. After that, she decided to change course and study international politics.

She is worthy of studying because of her many achievements. After earning her doctorate degree at the University of Denver, she became a professor of Political Science at Stanford University. In 1987, Stanford’s political science department held a dinner at which she meant Brent Scowcroft who later served as the national security advisor to George H. W. Bush. Following the dinner, Scowcroft attended one of Condoleezza’s classes and heard her lecture on Soviet `ICBM’s ( (intercontinental ballistic missiles) He was so impressed with her knowledge of the missiles that he invited her to leave Stanford and serve on the National Security Council. Her expertise in Russian politics allowed her to become more and more involved in the federal government and served as the Director of Soviet and Eastern European Affairs for the National Security Council in 1989. She returned to Stanford in 1991 as Provost, second in rank to the highest post on the campus, second only to the university president. When George W. Bush was elected President of the US in 2001, he asked Condoleezza to be his National Security Advisor, the first woman and only African American to hold that office. After Colin Powell resigned from his position as Secretary of State, Rice became the next Secretary of State, the second woman, after Madeline Albright, to hold this office.

Condoleezza is important because she was the first black woman to be appointed National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush in 2001 and the first black female to be confirmed Secretary of State in 2005. As Secretary of State, Condoleezza was known by all of the major world leaders. “For Condoleezza, meetings with foreign leaders were becoming almost routine.” Although she had proven herself to be a leading expert on the Soviet Union, she found that the Russians had trouble accepting her. She said that she didn’t know if it was because she was female, or black, or young, but she said they learned to deal with her in her important role in the administration. And because she did not show off her knowledge, she was able to get along with people easily and make strong points. This easy-going side of her personality was a good thing i, but she also had a part of her personality that was “Tough as Nails.” Other world leaders found out that under her unpretentious side, she could not be pushed around. Her presence on the world stage made world leaders think twice before they tried to intimidate her. As President Bush said in a letter he wrote, “Condi was brilliant, but she never tried to flaunt it in meetings with foreign leaders...Her temperament was such that she had an amazing way of getting along with people, of making a strong point without being disagreeable to those who differed...She has a manner and presence that disarms the biggest of the big shots. Why? Because they know she knows what she is talking about.” This pretty much sums up Condoleezza. “ She has had a huge impact in American history not only because she is a black woman, but because she is exceptionally intelligent, severely determined, extremely knowledgeable, and has that special quality of grace under pressure. She has made an impact on whatever she has done, from being a provost at a major university to serving as Secretary of State to the President of the United States. “Whatever path she chooses to take in the future, one can be sure that she will get there through a belief she has held her entire life: one person’s ability can make a world of difference.”