Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright will receive a prize in memory of assassinated Swedish prime minister Anna Lindh for her role as a "unique female leader", the award's organisers announced today.
The Anna Lindh prize, worth USD 23,000, is given to those who "help others and strive for a more humane and just world", according to the Anna Lindh memorial fund, which bestows the honour.
Albright, 76, is "one of the most remarkable diplomats of our times... (She) was a colleague, friend and role model for Anna Lindh," the fund said in a statement.
After being sworn in as the first female secretary of state on January 23, 1997, Albright steered foreign policy for president Bill Clinton until he left office four years later.
She is credited with a key role in advancing the Middle East peace process and influencing America's international policy on arms control and human rights.
Anna Lindh was murdered on September 11, 2003 by a mentally ill young Swedish man, Mijailo Mihailovic, who was of Serb origin.
The prize will be officially awarded to Albright on September 11, 2013, in a ceremony in Stockholm that marks the tenth anniversary of Lindh's murder. Albright will be present via video link.
