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Zbigniew Brzezinski

Polish-American diplomat and political scientist, National Security Advisor to Jimmy Carter

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Zbigniew Brzezinski

Central Intelligence Agency from Washington, D.C. · Public domain

Zbigniew Brzezinski was a Polish-American diplomat and political scientist who served as Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor from 1977 to 1981.[1][2] He was born in Warsaw, Poland on March 28, 1928 into a Roman Catholic szlachta family.[3] The Guardian obituary notes he was one of the European exiles who helped steer American foreign policy in the second half of the 20th century.[4]

Life and work

Brzezinski's father Tadeusz was a Polish diplomat posted to Germany from 1931 to 1935 and later to the Soviet Union during Stalin's Great Purge.[5] After attending Loyola College in Montreal, Brzezinski entered McGill University in 1945 and earned his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees by 1950.[6] He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1953, focusing on the Soviet Union and the October Revolution.[7] Major foreign policy events during his tenure included normalizing relations with China, signing SALT II, and brokering the Camp David Accords.[8]

The Guardian obituary states Brzezinski was a centrist or conservative Democrat who supported the Vietnam War.[4] He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Carter in 1981.[9] From 1953 to 1960, Brzezinski taught at Harvard University, and then from 1960 to 1972 he was a faculty member at Columbia University, where he also led the Research Institute on Communist Affairs.[10] Together with David Rockefeller, Brzezinski established the Trilateral Commission, holding the position of director between 1973 and 1976.[11]

By late 1975, Brzezinski had become Carter's main foreign policy advisor, and following Carter's win in the 1976 election, he was appointed National Security Advisor.[12][13]

What the cited sources add

The Guardian obituary notes Brzezinski was a graduate of the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, like Henry Kissinger.[4] A Foreign Policy article by Sargent describes Brzezinski as a Cold War hawk who imposed a dogmatic anti-Soviet agenda after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.[14] The same source reports Secretary of State Cyrus Vance called Brzezinski "evil, a liar, dangerous" after resigning.[14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski And His Life On The World Stage", Morning Joe, May 30, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sabine Feiner: Weltordnung durch US-Leadership? Die Konzeption Zbigniew K. Brzezinskis. Westdeutscher Verlag, Wiesbaden 2001; Seiple, "Revisiting the Geo-Political Thinking of Sir Halford John Mackinder: United States–Uzbekistan Relations 1991–2005", November 27, 2006; "Zbigniew Brzezinski obituary", The Guardian, May 28, 2017; Sklar, Holly. "Founding the Trilateral Commission: Chronology 1970–1977". Trilateralism: The Trilateral Commission and Elite Planning for World Management. Bost (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lewis, "Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter, Dies at 89", The New York Times, May 27, 2017, p. A1; "Zbigniew Brzezinski obituary", The Guardian, 28 May 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. "Zbigniew Brzezinski obituary", The Guardian, May 28, 2017. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  5. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Tadeusz Brzezinski, Former Polish Consul-General, Dies", Associated Press; Gati (2013) p. 237; Hoagland, "Zbigniew Brzezinski, foreign policy intellectual who served as Carter's national security adviser, dies at 89", The Washington Post, May 26, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Luce, "Lunch with the FT: Zbigniew Brzezinski", Financial Times, January 13, 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gati (2013) p. 208 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Schmitz, "Jimmy Carter and the Foreign Policy of Human Rights: The Development of a Post-Cold War Foreign Policy", Diplomatic History, 2004, p. 113–143; Sargent, "Postmodern America Didn't Deserve Jimmy Carter", Foreign Policy, July 24, 2021; Tobin, "The Myth of the "Afghan Trap": Zbigniew Brzezinski and Afghanistan, 1978–1979", Diplomatic History, April 2020, p. 237–264 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hoagland, "Zbigniew Brzezinski, foreign policy intellectual who served as Carter's national security adviser, dies at 89", The Washington Post, May 26, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Zbigniew Brzezinski, PhD", Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sklar, Holly. "Founding the Trilateral Commission: Chronology 1970–1977". Trilateralism: The Trilateral Commission and Elite Planning for World Management. Bost (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brauer, "Lost In Transition", The Atlantic, November 1, 1988 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Zbigniew Brzezinski" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Michael Getler, "Dissidents Challenge Prague – Tension Builds Following Demand for Freedom and Democracy", The Washington Post (January 21, 1977). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Sargent, "Postmodern America Didn't Deserve Jimmy Carter", Foreign Policy, July 24, 2021. facts only, no text reused. foreignpolicy.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Zbigniew Brzezinski (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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1. In what year was Zbigniew Brzezinski born?

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Not quite. The answer is 1928.

2. In what year did Zbigniew Brzezinski die?

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3. In which place was Zbigniew Brzezinski born?

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