Condoleezza Rice

The first black woman to become United States Secretary of State, Rice overcame widespread racial discrimination to rise to one of the most powerful and influential positions in world politics.

She counts her childhood experiences of discrimination and violence - including seeing a classmate killed in a racist bomb attack on their Sunday School - as teaching her 'determination against adversity'.

A graduate in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame, Rice worked on European affairs as part of George Bush Senior's government and played a key role in the process of German reunification.

In 2001, she was appointed National Security Advisor before becoming Secretary of State in 2005.

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