Condoleezza Rice: From Birmingham to Secretary of State

Early Life and Family Background

Condoleezza Rice's biography is a remarkable story of how she became involved in politics and rose to become Secretary of State for the United States — and arguably the most powerful woman in the world at the time.

Rice's rise to prominence reflects a love of education that goes back generations in her family, despite the fact that all of her great-grandparents were enslaved. She had "house slaves" on both sides of her family, and their positions allowed them to become literate. Her grandfather, John Rice, Jr., saved money he earned picking cotton in order to attend college, and he went on to become a Presbyterian minister (Herstein, 2004).

Condoleezza Rice was born on November 14, 1954, in Birmingham, Alabama. She lived through considerable turmoil in the city; one of her classmates, Denise McNair, was killed when a Black Sunday school was bombed in Birmingham in 1964 (Norolinger, 1999). She describes her parents as "strategic" (Herstein, 2004), noting that they planned her education so that she would have skills valued by white society and gain as equal a footing as possible.

In 1965, the Rice family moved to Tuscaloosa, where her father became Dean of Stillman College. This led to another academic position — Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Denver — when Condoleezza was 13 (Norolinger, 1999). An advanced student, Rice entered the University of Denver at the age of 15.

Education and Academic Career

Rice did not begin her studies with politics in mind. Her mother was a musician, and Rice started piano lessons at age three. Her original plan was to become a concert pianist (Herstein, 2004). However, she came to recognize that she did not possess the exceptional level of talent required for such a career and began looking for other intellectual interests (Norolinger, 1999). She decided to focus on international politics, and was particularly inspired by one of her professors — a Jewish émigré from Czechoslovakia who was the father of future Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (Herstein, 2004).

After graduating from the University of Denver at age 19, she earned a master's degree at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, drawn to its strong Soviet studies program (Herstein, 2004). She then returned to the University of Denver for a Ph.D. in political science (Herstein, 2004). After completing her doctorate, she accepted a one-year position at Stanford University. She was retained beyond that initial appointment, and by 1987 had become an associate professor (Herstein, 2004).

In 1993, Stanford promoted her to full professor and named her Provost — second in command of the university (Herstein, 2004). While this was a position of great importance, it also moved her out of academics and into administration, which was not the return to university life she had envisioned.

While at Stanford, Rice met a man who would significantly shape her career: Brent Scowcroft, who became President George H.W. Bush's National Security Advisor in 1989. Once in that role, Scowcroft contacted Rice and asked her to take a leave of absence from Stanford to work with him, which she did for two years. Her expertise on the Soviet Union was highly valued by the first Bush administration (Herstein, 2004). She served under Scowcroft on the National Security Council during one of the most turbulent periods in modern history — Germany reunified, the Baltic states separated from the U.S.S.R., and the Soviet Union itself was on borrowed time (Norolinger, 1999).

Entry into Government Service

Rice understood both the paradox and the dangers of a great power on the verge of collapse. Though greatly weakened, the Soviet Union remained threatening: "It was still exceedingly dangerous," she said, "and I think we're very fortunate to have gotten through the Cold War the way we did." (Norolinger, 1999)

Rice already knew George Bush, Senior, having served in his administration. In 1995, she met George W. Bush, who was then the governor of Texas. They got along immediately. Bush respected her knowledge of foreign policy, and the two shared a love of sports (Norolinger, 1999). When Bush ran for president, he relied on her advice as a foreign policy advisor. After his election, he named her National Security Advisor — the same position her former mentor, Brent Scowcroft, had held under his father (Herstein, 2004).

Rice quickly stood out as an articulate and influential member of Bush's inner circle. She was willing to speak her mind as well as speak for the administration, helping to set a new and more conservative tone in American foreign policy. Even before the attacks of September 11, she stated: "It takes courage to set priorities. Using the American armed forces as the world's '911' will degrade capabilities, bog soldiers down in peacekeeping roles, and fuel concern among the great powers that the United States has decided to enforce notions of 'limited sovereignty' worldwide in the name of humanitarianism." (Jablonsky, 2001) This represented a dramatic shift from the policies of the previous administration and made clear that Rice was neither a figurehead nor a token appointment.