WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has appointed Mark Brzezinski, an Obama-era diplomat with deep ties to Poland, to serve as ambassador to Warsaw.
If confirmed, Brzezinski would be sent to Poland at a time when central and eastern European allies of the United States are closely monitoring the Biden administration’s approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Biden administration announced last month that it had reached an agreement with Germany that will allow the completion of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe without the imposition of new US sanctions. This project allows Moscow to bypass Ukraine, Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries that collect energy transit fees.
Brzezinski served in Barack Obama’s administration as the first executive director of the White House Arctic Executive Steering Committee and as U.S. Ambassador to Sweden. He also served on the White House National Security Council during the administration of Bill Clinton, first as director for Russia and Eurasia, then as director for the Balkans. Brzezinski spent time in Poland as a Fulbright Scholar and is the author of “The Struggle for Constitutionalism in Poland”.
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Brzezinski is the son of Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served as National Security Advisor under President Jimmy Carter. His sister, Mika Brzezinski, is the host of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC.
Zbigniew Brzezinski was born in Warsaw, spoke fluent Polish and was well known and respected in Poland.
The White House also announced that Biden is appointing four other career foreign service officers to ambassadorial posts: Elizabeth Fitzsimmons to Togo, Rebecca Gonzales to Lesotho, Brian Shukan to Benin and David Young to Malawi.
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Associated Press writer Monika Scislowska in Warsaw contributed to this report.
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