Zbigniew Brzezinski Dies: Jimmy Carter’s National Security Adviser & MSNBC Host Mika Brzezinski’s Father Was 89
Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter and father of MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski, died Friday at a hospital in Falls Church, VA. He was 89.
Mika Brzezinski announced the news on Instagram.
“My father passed away peacefully tonight. He was known to his friends as Zbig, to his grandchildren as Chief and to his wife as the enduring love of her life. I just knew his as the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have. I love you Dad #HailToTheChief,” she wrote.
Brzezinski served as President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Adviser from 1977 to 1981 after serving as Carter’s principal foreign policy adviser during the 1976 campaign. Major foreign policy events during his tenure include the normalization of relations with China, along with the severing of ties with the Republic of China on Taiwan, the signing of the SALT II treaty, brokering of the Camp David Accords and Iran’s transition from U.S. ally to to anti-Western Islamic Republic.
In recent years, he would often phone in to his daughter’s MSNBC show Morning Joe to weigh in on folicy policy issues and discuss the issues of the day.
In 1981, Brzezinski was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in the normalization of US-China relations and his contributions to the country’s human rights and national security policies.
Chief at the helm!
We love you, Dad, and will always be grateful for the love and devotion you showed us all. #HailToTheChief pic.twitter.com/4OtLuYIyZY
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) May 27, 2017
Brzezinski also was remembered by Morning Joe co-host, Joe Scarborough.
Dr. Brzezinski fought tirelessly to bring freedom to his homeland of Poland. He was a fierce Cold Warrior against Russian aggression.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 27, 2017
Brzezinski recently was a senior research professor of international relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a counselor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In 2016, he received the US Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award, the agency’s highest civilian honor.
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