Rachael Ray's Touching Tribute To Madeleine Albright

Former Secretary of State Dr. Madeleine K. Albright has died at age 84, Albright's family announced via Twitter. She trailblazed her way into the White House as its first female Secretary of State in 1997 — the highest-ranking government position any female had held up to that point, per Women's Hall of Fame – but had already been active in steering foreign policy for many years prior. During President Bill Clinton's first term, Albright served a pivotal role as chief delegate to the United Nations, per The New York Times. 

With her vow to "talk about foreign policy not in abstract terms, but in human terms and bipartisan terms," Albright earned herself fans and critics on both sides. This was due in part to the fact that when she talked about anything, she tended to do so with notable conviction: Just last month she called out Putin's actions in Ukraine. The diplomat also openly talked about her own actions, like when she explained her use of the phrase, "There's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other" (via The New York Times). 

Clearly, Madeleine Albright holds a special place in the hearts of strong women such as celebrity chef, Rachael Ray, whose Twitter tribute to Albright touchingly reveals her appreciation for the diplomat.

"We lost one of the most important voices [and] greatest humans to walk this planet," tweeted celebrity chef and important voice in her own right, Rachael Ray, soon after learning that Madeleine Albright had died on March 23. "I'm heartbroken at the loss of such a force of peace; especially now. Now we need to pay attention. Now we need to be the likes of her," Ray concluded, but not before offering a brief and ever-so-lowkey shoutout to Albright's clever use of brooches throughout her diplomatic career. 

"She gave hope [and] security [with] her brilliance, her grace, her pins," Ray noted, referring to Albright's use of well-curated brooches to convey messages of foreign policy in the same way that Ruth Bader Ginsburg later conveyed her dissent by donning a particular collar. There's even an online museum exhibit devoted to Madeleine Albright's pins, which says that the brooches became Albright's "diplomatic signature."

For example, Albright wore a jewel-encrusted "see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil" three-monkey brooch to a 2000 Moscow summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Possibly under the impression that Albright was trying to convey her opinion that the proceedings were mere "monkey business," Putin asked her to clarify, according to InStyle. Albright politely explained: The focus wasn't meant to be on the monkeys after all, but rather, the evil of a specific policy.