Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and
diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of
State, and was the second person to hold that office in the
administration of President George W. Bush. Rice was the first
female African-American secretary of state, as well as the
second African American , and the second woman . Rice was
President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first
term, making her the first woman to serve in that position.
Before joining the Bush administration, she was a professor of
political science at Stanford University where she served as
Provost from 1993 to 1999. Rice also served on the National
Security Council as the Soviet and East European Affairs Advisor
to President George H.W. Bush during the dissolution of the
Soviet Union and German reunification.