Condoleezza Rice Biography – Former US Secretary of State under Bush administration

Condoleezza Rice is the former United States Secretary of State who served under President George W Bush from 2005 to 2009 as the successor of Colin Powell. Prior to becoming Secretary of State, Rice was National Security Advisor for Bush administration.

Early Life and Education

Condoleezza Rice was born on November 14, 1954 to father John Wesley and mother Angelena Rice. While her mother was a high school teacher, her father was a high school guidance counselor. Raised in Birmingham, Condoleezza went to St Mary’s Academy in Denver.

Graduating from St Mary’s in 1971, Rice joined the University of Denver for an undergraduate degree in political science. Condoleezza went to the University of Notre Dame for master’s degree. Rice did some courses at Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Columbia as a fellow.

Personal Life

Condoleezza is still a bachelorette and doesn’t have any children. In the past, she briefly dated Rick Upchurch who was a football player.

Career

After completing her education, Condoleezza Rice joined Stanford University as an asst. professor of political science. She remained at Stanford from 1981 to 1987. During that period of time, she was largely involved in the American politics as a political scientist. As of 1986, she was working with Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in order to address political interests in nuclear strategies. From 1993 to 1999, she also served as Provost of Stanford University.

Under the capacity of Provost of such a reputed university, Rice managed Stanford’s budget and helped it overcome a huge deficit and gain a surplus of $14.5 million. Many of Rice’s colleagues at Stanford describe her as a diligent person.

Leaving the job of Provost, Condoleezza joined the Bush administration as National Security Advisor on January 20, 2001. She supported the commencement of Iraq invasion in 2003. Likewise, Rice was crucial in determining the security policies of United States after the September 11 attacks. For her work during the office, Rice was awarded US Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service.

As George W Bush’s first term as President came to an end, he sought for a second term and subsequently won the 2004 general election. On January 26, 2005, Rice assumed office as US Secretary of State by succeeding Colin Powell. She was confirmed by the Senate with 85 out of 98 votes. Under this position, Rice tended to travel and carry out diplomatic talks with various nations in the world. In April 2005, she went on an official trip to Russia where she met current Russian President Vladimir Putin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtpiuBQuLLs

On January 20, 2009, Bush administration finished its two-year term in the office. As a result, Condoleezza left the office to join Council on Foreign Relations. Even after leaving the Bush administration, Rice remained in various controversies such as the use of enhanced interrogation techniques that include torturing. Likewise, she was heavily criticized for supporting 2003 Iraq Invasion. Similarly, some politicians such as Dick Cheney have called her a naïve and inexperienced person whose advice were misleading to Bush administration.

After leaving Bush administration, Rice has appeared in various television shows to talk about her experiences in the White House and other important matters. As of 2015, she was the commencement speaker for High Point University. Reportedly, many significant newspapers highlighted her commencement speech. In 2013, she was appointed as College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Likewise, Rice has published a few works:

• Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft, 1995
• “Campaign 2000: Promoting the National Interest | Foreign Affairs” in Foreign Affairs, 2000
• The Strategy of Campaigning: Lessons from Ronald Reagan and Boris Yeltsin (2007)
• Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family (2010)
• No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington (2011)

Donald Trump and Condoleezza Rice

At Javits Center in October 2016, Donald Trump referred to Condoleezza as a ‘bitch’. This statement sparked a rage on Rice. She wrote on her Facebook account: Enough! Donald Trump should not be President. He should withdraw. As a Republican, I hope to support someone who has the dignity and stature to run for the highest office in the greatest democracy on earth.