Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Austin for the of a new exhibit at the LBJ Presidential Library called Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection.
Albright stopped by the Texas Standard studio to talk about the collection.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad to be in Texas,鈥� Albright said. 鈥淭oday I鈥檝e got on my Texas pin, which has stars and cowboy boots and Stetsons.鈥�
She鈥檚 famous for her pins, which she鈥檚 used for decades as a strategy of creative diplomacy.
鈥淲hat happened was, when I got [to the UN], in February 鈥�93 was the end of the Gulf War and the ceasefire had been translated into a series of sanctions resolutions,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was an instructed ambassador and my instructions were to make sure that the sanctions stayed on. So every day I said perfectly terrible things about Saddam Hussein 鈥� which he deserved, he invaded Kuwait. So all of a sudden a poem appeared in the papers in Baghdad comparing me to many things, but among them an unparalleled serpent. And I happened to have a snake pin, so I wore it whenever we talked about Iraq. And then I thought, 鈥榃ell, this is fun.鈥� So I went out and I bought a bunch of costume jewelry to reflect whatever I thought we were going to do on any given day. So especially when I鈥檓 here in Texas I can say the first President Bush said 鈥楻ead my lips, no new taxes.鈥� So I said 鈥楻ead my pins.鈥� And that鈥檚 how the whole thing started.鈥�
She wanted to use her pins to deliver a message 鈥� and not discretely.
鈥淲hen I was Secretary of State, the Russians were bugging the State Department and we found the guy ultimately sitting outside listening,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he next time I met with the Russian foreign minister I wore this huge bug and he totally got what was going on.鈥�
Albright took her pins with her on her travels, even in North Korea.
鈥淚 wore the biggest American flag you鈥檝e ever seen,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥榃hat is it like for the Leader to be standing next to an American with a very large flag being very proud?鈥欌��
The collection, on display at the LBJ Presidential Library, shows off more than 200 of her signature pins. The exhibit runs until Jan. 21, 2018.
Written by Jen Rice.
