Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright died Wednesday at the age of 84, her family announced.

Albright, who served in the position from 1997-2001 during the presidency of Bill Clinton, was the first woman to serve in the role. In recent years, she worked as a professor at Georgetown University and served on the board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

“We are heartbroken to announce that Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, the 64th U.S. Secretary of State and the first woman to hold that position, passed away earlier today. The cause was cancer. She was surrounded by family and friends. We have lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend,” the Albright family said in a statement.