The Stimson Center, a global nonprofit, nonpartisan think-tank based in Washington DC, has described late ace American diplomat, Madeleine Albright as a global force who stood for grace, decency, freedom, throughout her career in foreign policy as global diplomat.
The organisation in a commentary paper written by Richard Ponzio recalled how Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S Secretary of State, worked alongside Professor Ibrahim Gambari — a former Nigeria’s foreign minister and first African to serve as United Nations Under-Secretary General (Political Affairs) and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa respectively, hailing the duo as global voices of multilateralism that have demonstrated much pragmatism in finding lasting peace, unity and stability in a turbulent world.
The New Diplomat understands that Albright and Gambari co-chaired the UN Commission on Global Security, Justice and Governance between 2014 and 2016.
The organisation lavished praises on Albright and Gambari, who became the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2020, highlighting how their work has continued to strengthen multilateral approach in global affairs.
Albright, died of cancer at the age of 84 on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, The New Diplomat had earlier reported.
The Stimson Centre, while extolling the legacy of Albright, who was Gambari’s classmate during their P.hD programme at the Columbia University, said the diplomat left an indelible mark for United States and the world in general.
Apart from being the first female Secretary of state in the US, Albright will be remembered in the history books for coining the term ‘assertive multilateralism’ while serving as US ambassador to the UN, something which has continued to inform the U.S foreign policy after the cold war era. “The term describes the Clinton Administration’s practice of joining US forces with UN (peacekeeping) troops and thus supporting a more ambitious UN agenda.
“It was about increasing the reliance of the USA in international regimes, spreading the costs of leadership internationally, and winning legitimacy for international actions.” the centre wrote.
The Washington based organisation in the tribute posted on its official website further described Albright as a “global problem-solver and statesperson.”
American diplomat and political scientist, Albright, served as the 64th United States secretary of state under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. Earlier, the deceased diplomat, who immigrated with her family to the United States in 1948 from Communist Czechoslovakia, was appointed Ambassador to the United Nations, a Cabinet-level position, shortly after Clinton was inaugurated in 1993.
The Stimson Center in its commentary following Albright’s death noted that the Albright-Gambari Commission presented over eighty recommendations for improving global conflict, climate, and collaborative economic management, including a call for a World Conference on Global Institutions.
“To date, some twenty of the Commission’s ideas have achieved policy uptake, and others are likely to be deliberated upon, in September 2023, at UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ Summit of the Future in New York.”
The global think-tank in its commentary continued: “While her ideas—and pragmatic idealism—will live on, especially through her family, colleagues, and the thousands of students and young professionals she mentored over the years, Madeleine Albright will be deeply missed, including by her many affectionate admirers and partners in global policy innovation at the Stimson Center.”
Gambari, a scholar-diplomat cum consensus-builder, has had an illustrious career spanning academia, government, public administration and international diplomacy. He’s famed for being the most outstanding Nigerian- born serving Ambassador at the UN between 1990 and 1999 under different administrations. Between 1999 and 2005, he served as the United Nations Under-Secretary General (Political Affairs) and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa. He was the Chairman of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid from 1990 to 1994 and on Peace-Keeping Operations till 1999. He was Head of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (DPA) between 2005 and 2007and also operated as UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Cyprus, Zimbabwe and Myanmar and Special Representative in Angola.
Professor Ibrahim Gambari currently serves as Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. His appointment on May 13, 2020 follows the death of Mr Abba Kyari during the peak of the global Covid-19 lockdown.
