Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is born in Birmingham, Alabama, on the 14th of November in 1954. This is the time when racial segregation is a big problem in the United States.
Her parents are educated, black middle class people: her father is a pastor and her mother a musician and school teacher. Like most of the black middle class families, they do not let themselves influence by the racial problems and they live and educate their children as if they were white.
In later years Condoleezza Rice once says: "My parents managed to convince me that you may not be able to have a hamburger at Woolworth's but you can be president of the United States." In my opinion this sentence clearly shows the way of living and education of the Rice family.
By the time Condoleezza is three years old she starts learning French and playing the piano. Very soon her talent and intelligence are recognized and she continues on this field even when entering the University of Denver at the age of fifteen. Besides music she also shows big talent in ice-skating. After some time at the University she realizes that she won't be a great pianist and shifts her interests elsewhere. She takes a class in Russian Studies and there she finds her passion. By studying the Russian language her interest for Soviet Politics is awaken. Her professor Josef Korbel comes from former Czechoslovakia. He, by the way, is the father of Madeleine Albright who was Secretary of States for Foreign Affairs during the presidency of Bill Clinton. Josef Korbel is the most central figure during her years at the university. Studying is so easy for her that she even skips two classes and finishes university already at the age of nineteen.
She continues her studies, makes a practical study in the Foreign Ministry in Washington and works for international politics.
In 1981 she becomes professor of political science at the Stanford-University in California. At Stanford she is a member of the Centre for International Security and Arms Control. During this time President George Bush, the father of today's president George W. Bush discovers her capabilities and knowledge. Bush introduces her to Michael Gorbatschow as "the one who has told me everything I know about the Soviet Union". While working for Bush Senior many things change in world politics. It is the time of Germany's reunification and the last days of the Soviet Union. Condoleezza Rice is the one who advises President Bush in favour of reunification of Germany.
After working for Bush senior she returns to Stanford in 1991. In 1993 she is appointed Stanford Provost, becoming the youngest person in the position as well as the first woman and the first non-white. She holds the position until 1999 and besides that she also works in leading position in the oil industry. Of course she also holds several honorary posts.
During the time at Stanford University she not only writes a lot of newspaper articles about politics in East- and Middle Europe and the former Soviet Union but also three books which have the following titles:
- The Gorbachev Era and Uncertain Allegiance
- The Soviet Union an the Czechoslovak Army
- Germany Unified and Europe Transformed
When George W. Bush follows Bill Clinton as president of the United States in 2000 he again calls for Condoleezza Rice as his National Security Advisor. During these four years she receives world wide attention and since then she is known in Germany.
In the meantime she nearly has become a member of the Bush family and shares a lot of interests with them: She is very religious and wildly determined to fight against terrorism and Islamic extremism.
When Bush II is re-elected for president in 2004, Colin Powell, the former Foreign Minister takes his demisson. Nobody is surprised that George W. Bush suggests his friend Condoleezza Rice, whose nickname is Condi, for this job. Since yesterday the 20th of Januar she is be the most powerful woman of this world. Furthermore the first black woman in such a great position.
Condoleezza Rice is not married and as a big football and baseball fan her dream job would be to be the boss of the National Football League. But this dream will probably not come true within the next few years.
As she has already shown during the reunification, she is a friend of Germany and gets along quite well with Joschka Fischer, our German Minister for Foreign Affairs. Hopefully the relationship between the US and Germany which has suffered considerably during the Iraq War will be improved again.
