The late American envoy to UN Madeleine Albright, who died Wednesday after struggling with cancer disease, knew how to deliver a unique diplomatic message without even saying a single word.
The first female secretary of state unveiled that she sent signals with her decorative pins and brooches, as she was serving as President Clinton’s U.S. envoy to the UN from 1993 to 1997.
“After the Gulf War, when the U.S. was seeking the passage of resolutions for attractive sanctions on Iraq’s Sadam Hussain regime,” she recounted in her published book entitled: “Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection.”
Albright noted that she had to elaborate her custom jewelry to send a political and diplomatic message to the world leaders as well as the global community about the hard negotiation with the Iraqi regime.
“On good days, I wore flowers and butterflies and balloons, and on bad days, all kinds of bugs and carnivorous animals. I saw it as an additional way of expressing what I was saying, a visual way to deliver a message.”
As secretary of state from 1997 to 2001, Albright “became more deliberate in the way that I used the symbolism of my pins,” as she said in her book.
“I was representing the USA, so it was important that I looked dignified, but I also loved dressing like a woman, and the pins helped inject some humor, personality, and messaging into what were very serious times.” “I had a lot of fun with it. Especially trying to figure out to what extent my message was received,” she continued.
It’s worth mentioning that Albright’s jewelry collection featured more than 200 pins that were showcased at 22 museums across the world and now is housed at “The National Museum of American Diplomacy in Washington D.C.”
Contributed by Ahmed Emam
