I was taught to strive not because there were any guarantees of success but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life.

Every new president inherits headaches, but President Obama has inherited an entire emergency room.

It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.

I really think that there was a great advantage in many ways to being a woman. I think we are a lot better at personal relationships, and then have the capability obviously of telling it like it is when it's necessary.

Even before I went to the UN, I often would want to say something in a meeting - only woman at the table - and I'd think, 'OK well, I don't think I'll say that. It may sound stupid.' And then some man says it, and everybody thinks it's completely brilliant, and you are so mad at yourself for not saying something.

A skilled diplomat rarely generates extreme reactions.

Women are more than 50% of almost every country in the world. Countries rob themselves of the resources of women if they keep them as property. It isn't that women can't find work. It's just that women don't get paid for their work and are not recognized properly. It's something that has to be on the international agenda all the time.