Condoleezza Rice (pronounced /kɒndəˈliːzə/; born November 14, 1954) in OTL is a professor, diplomat and author. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush. Rice was the first African-American woman secretary of state, as well as the second African American (after Colin Powell), and the second woman (after Madeleine Albright). Rice was President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term. 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 served as the Soviet and East European Affairs Advisor to President George H. W. Bush during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification.
When beginning as Secretary of State, Rice pioneered a policy of Transformational Diplomacy, with a focus on democracy in the greater Middle East. Her emphasis on supporting democratically elected governments faced challenges as Hamas captured a popular majority in Palestinian elections yet supported Islamist militants, and influential countries including Saudi Arabia and Egypt maintained authoritarian systems with U.S. support. While Secretary of State, she chaired the Millennium Challenge Corporation's board of directors.
In March 2009, Rice returned to Stanford University as a political science professor and the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution.
Alternate versions of Rice have been discovered in the multiverse:
- Condoleezza Rice, 66th United States Secretary of State (President McCain)
- Condoleezza Rice, Professor of International Relations at Harvard University (PS-1)
- Condoleezza Rice, former President of the United States (Republican Civil War)