WASHINGTON: Madeleine Albright, the United States' first female Secretary of State, has died at the age of 84,  her family announced.

She died Albright died of cancer on Wednesday, her family said in a statement, adding that she was "surrounded by family and friends" during her dying moments, Xinhua news reported.

She was born in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, and immigrated to the United States as an 11-year-old refugee in 1948. She rose through the ranks of the US Foreign Service, serving as Secretary of State under Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.

During her time at the State Department, she championed NATO's eastward expansion, arguing in particular for the alliance's military participation in the Kosovo War between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, which was led by the United States in 1999.  The bombardment of the capital city of Belgrade was part of NATO's 78-day airstrike campaign against the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Albright served as the US Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997 before becoming Secretary of State. At the time of her death, she was a lecturer at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

ASEAN special envoy concludes Myanmar visit with positive outcomes: Report

US to discuss freezing USD132-billion Russia's gold reserves

US White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tested positive for Covid-19