January 26, 2005

Birmingham native Condoleezza Rice became the first African-American woman to hold the position of secretary of state. Rice – who served in the administration of President George H.W. Bush as a Soviet analyst and adviser on the National Security Council – was hired by George W. Bush to provide foreign policy advice during his presidential campaign and was appointed national security adviser after his election. In 2012, Rice became one of the first two women admitted to the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia and, in 2013, was selected as a member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Birmingham native Condoleezza Rice (1954-) is a public servant and academic who served as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State during the George W. Bush administration. She is a faculty member at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The U.S. Department of State)

Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice signs official papers Friday, Jan. 28, 2005, after receiving the oath of office during her ceremonial swearing in at the Department of State. Watching on are, from left, Laura Bush, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President George W. Bush and an unidentified family member. (White House photo by Eric Draper, Wikipedia)

President George W. Bush, with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, talks with reporters Monday, March 24, 2008 in the Department of State in Washington, D.C. (White House photo by Eric Draper, Wikipedia)

U.S. President George W. Bush (at podium) discusses his plan for peace in the Middle East as National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice (left), Secretary of State Colin Powell (center) and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (right) stand by his side in the White House Rose Garden on June 24, 2002. (White House, Wikipedia)

President George W. Bush is seen Thursday, Dec. 1. 2005 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, as he signs H.R. 4145, to Direct the Joint Committee on the Library to Obtain a Statue of Rosa Parks, which will be placed in the US Capitol’s National Statuary Hall. The President is joined by, from left to right, U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, Mrs. Laura Bush, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss. (White House photograph by Paul Morse, Wikipedia)

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks after receiving an honorary degree at Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base in April 2008. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force. Photograph by Donna Burnett)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.