The legacy of Zbigniew Brzezinski: Remarks by Madeleine K. Albright

Description

Vali Nasr, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, hosts a talk moderated by Carla P. Freeman, director of the Foreign Policy Institute and featuring remarks by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, or "ZBig" as he was familiarly called by colleagues and students, served as the national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter and was a distinguished professor of American Foreign Policy and a Foreign Policy Institute Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins SAIS. He hosted a bi-weekly seminar series entitled "Current Issues" and an annual school-wide lecture that always sold out. Brzezinski's role in the normalization of U.S.-China relations and contributions to human rights and national security policies earned him multiple accolades and awards, most notably the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. His legacy represents the best in American global leadership, and primacy of strategic thinking and diplomatic initiative in resolving complex global issues. He is remembered at Johns Hopkins SAIS as a captivating lecturer who was dedicated to educating the next generation of leaders in world affairs.

Madeleine K. Albright was the first woman to be named U.S. Secretary of State and served under former President Bill Clinton. Previously, she served on the National Security Council alongside Brzezinski, where she gained respect for him as a friend and mentor. In 2012, former President Barack Obama awarded Secretary Albright with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her efforts to bring peace to the Middle East and Africa, reduce the spread of nuclear weapons, and for her role as a longtime champion of democracy and human rights all over the world. Today, she is the chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm in Washington, DC.