Former President George W. Bush released a statement on Wednesday in regards to the death of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Albright, the first woman to be U.S. secretary of state, died on Wednesday at the age of 85. Her family confirmed the news on Twitter and said she died due to cancer.
President Bush shared his thoughts on her passing, and her place in American history:
"Laura and I are heartbroken by the news of Madeleine Albright’s death. She lived out the American dream and helped others realize it," Bush said in the statement. "As a young girl in Czechoslovakia, she fled the Nazis, and years later, she fled Communism. When she arrived in the United States as a young girl aboard the SS America in 1948, she never dreamt that she would become our nation’s first female Secretary of State.
"She served with distinction as a foreign-born foreign minister who understood firsthand the importance of free societies for peace in our world," he added. "I respect her love of country and public service, and Laura and I are grateful to have called Madeline Albright our friend. We send our sincere sympathies to her daughters."
