ABSTRACT

This an edited excerpt of Secretary of State Madeleine K Albright’s keynote address at the fiftieth anniversary of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) on April 9, 1997.

The fundamental purpose of America’s foreign policy is to protect our citizens, our territory, and our friends. As we look ahead, and we know that increasingly, this will require an effective response to problems that extend far beyond our borders. To function successfully in this diverse, fast-paced, and rapidly changing environment, we will need women and men trained to deal with the world not as it was, but as it is, and as it will become.