Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American Republican politician, She was the 66th United States Secretary of State. She was the second Secretary of State under former President George W. Bush. She took over from Colin Powell on January 26, 2005, after he stepped down. Rice was the first African American woman, second African American (after Powell), and second woman (after Madeleine Albright) to serve as Secretary of State. Her educator was Josef Korbel, he inspired her.