Condoleezza Rice: George Shultz will be remembered as one of the most influential secretaries of state in our history

“It is the best job in government.” I had just called to tell George Shultz that I had been nominated to be secretary of state. I wanted to hear from my mentor, friend and soon to be predecessor. But then he quickly corrected himself. “Except for when I was a captain in the Marine Corps.” That was quintessentially George. He loved his country and loved serving it — whether on the battlefields of World War II or the gilded rooms of diplomacy in foreign capitals around the world.