Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, is a quiet woman who seldom seeks the spotlight, but her influence in the Bush White House is indisputable, and her role in shaping American foreign policy is central.

Born in 1954, Dr. Rice grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, as an African-American child during a time when racial segregation was an integral part of southern life. In 1963, one of her friends was killed in the church bombing that became an important fueling event for the civil rights movement. Taking advantage of new opportunities opened to African-Americans during the 1960s, she went to college at the University of Denver, where she developed a strong interest in foreign policy. She graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1974, gained a master's degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1975, and completed her Ph.D. from the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies in 1981. She was offered a faculty position at Stanford University in 1981, where she won two prestigious awards for distinguished teaching and served as Stanford's Provost for six years.

As a professor, Dr. Rice wrote numerous books and articles on foreign affairs, and she became well known as a specialist in Soviet and East European politics. Her books include Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army (1984) and Germany Unified and Europe Transformed (1995). From 1989 to 1991—when Germany was reunited and the Soviet Union was in its final days—she served the George H. Bush White House as Director and then Senior Director of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council. She became a familiar face within the Republican Party, and she gave major speeches to Republican delegates at the 1992 and 2000 conventions.

Since January 2001, Dr. Rice has become one of George W. Bush's major policy advisers, especially prominent since the September 11 attacks pushed foreign affairs and national security to the forefront of the nation's agenda. Her strong presence insures her role as an international superstar working primarily behind the scenes to secure world peace.