• Sweden edition
Politics

Obama picks foreign policy expert to be US ambassador to Sweden

Published: 9 Sep 11 10:41 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/36040/20110909/

US president Barack Obama has nominated Washington DC-based lawyer and foreign policy expert Mark Brzezinski to be the next US ambassador to Sweden.

Brzezinski currently heads up the international practice of the McGuireWoods law firm and served as a foreign policy advisor to Obama's 2008 election campaign.

He is the son of former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served under President Jimmy Carter.

During the administration of President Bill Clinton, the younger Brzezinski served on the National Security Council betweeen 1999 and 2001, focusing on issues relating to the Balkans, Russia, Eurasia and Southeast Europe.

He has been nominated to fill the United States' top diplomatic post in Sweden which has been vacant since May when Ambassador Matthew Barzun stepped down to lead the fundraising efforts for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

“The Embassy welcomes the White House announcement that President Obama has nominated a distinguished American to fill the post of US ambassador to Sweden,” embassy spokesperson Chris Dunnett told The Local.

Before heading to Stockholm, however, Brzezinski's nomination, which was announced late on Tuesday, must be approved by the US Senate. As a result, it remains unclear when Brzezinski may take up residence in the Swedish capital as the top US envoy.

While Dunnett said the embassy hopes for an “expeditious” nomination process, he emphasised that “it would not be appropriate for us to speculate on or prejudge the Senate's process."

Brzezinski received a doctorate in political science from Oxford University and his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College. He also spend two years in Poland as a Fulbright Scholar.

His sister, Mika Brzezinski, hosts a morning talk show on US cable channel MSNBC.

David Landes
news@thelocal.se
+46 8 656 6513

What do you think? Leave your comment below.

Your comments about this article:

The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.

12:26 September 9, 2011 by Addendum
Nice resume. Does he have a soul?
16:17 September 9, 2011 by tigger007
he has a soul an american one! i'm sure he will server his master well and i don't mean his natural master who is controlled my his supernatural master!
16:19 September 9, 2011 by Kilbey
@#1 Yes, he's a Democrat and therefore has a soul. It's the Republicans who are generally soul less.
19:54 September 9, 2011 by Grokh
foreign policy expert and american cannot be used in the same sentence its completely oxymoron.

As in they cannot be experts at something they fail over and over and over and over and over again......
20:13 September 9, 2011 by infoseek
Isn't this too easy of a post for the younger Dr. Brzezinski?
08:12 September 10, 2011 by B*tchslap
Ambassador to Sweden does seem like a rather insignificant post for someone with his credentials.
15:12 September 10, 2011 by Wyatt
To "Addendum" He can't have a soul, he is a Democrat, and worst yet he is appointed by a individual that has nor soul .
18:31 September 10, 2011 by suckfist
This has got to be one of the plushest jobs in the world---the U.S. ambassador to any Nordic country. The song "Hey, Jealousy" comes to my mind.
16:17 September 11, 2011 by Addendum
How does Dr. Brzezinski feel about Sweden's new law which makes it illegal for parents to homeschool their children?

To my understanding, some affected families (Swedish citizens) are now receiving refugee status in the U.S. and Canada due to the Swedish state's usurption of parental rights.

Will the ambassador be helping these families escape persecution in Sweden and relocate to the U.S.?
08:36 September 13, 2011 by shahislam
........................................

.....At the same time, we have to consider the following facts for greater purposes:

Yesterday is gone but the experience is still there, based on which we are easily capable of modifying or changing our homeland and international policies on financial matters of all kinds (until we become an united North-American super power, still securing in it, a symbolic top /highest place for the Queen of UK-for its hereditary historical role in the spreading of highly beneficial civilized law and orders, and in the future's 'New totally honest think-tank' of clearly identified 'Advisers' of Government Heads of North-America) in conforming with common sense driven presently developing non-violent US policies instead of old anti-bacterial-type application of of war toys against terrorism caused by some Eastern groups of individuals or God created super-animals in the form of humans whose impulsive actions or reactions are not much higher than the wild animals of the jungle, therefore, total reflection of humanity's positive side has not been present on the global tapestry! (More to be written soon if some are interested or show enthusiasm.)

Let's just move ahead along with all the congressmen of both sides, passing past failure of 9/11 era by creating decade long solar panel /cell / battery manufacturing jobs @ Chinese style minimum wage for millions of North-Americans in manufacturing e.g. 13,000 passenger carrying giant Solar airplanes.

It is a possible dream! We'll invest /spend e.g. freshly printed 20 Trillion US$ for Three reasons, 1. Lowering our Dollar value instantly, in order to compete with China's printing and we can recover in Two ways: A. Unlike China most of our recognized international currency will be absorbed in the growing international cash flow market; B. We'll be able collect back from our domestic big spender public, unlike frugal minded Chinese and Indians; 2. Financing making of too many giant in size, storm and terrorism defying remotely controlled slower commercial, international carriers for cheapest transportation, even cheaper than vessels on the Oceans and no one can beat us in this field! and 3. The time is not too far when New-under UN International Currency will be desperately needed.

Modified new free trade policies will be deficit-free on the basis of exchanging exact amount of good and services without deficit at the Year-End!
03:04 September 15, 2011 by infoseek
shahislam,

I haven't the pleasure to read such intelligent post on www in at least a few months. I enjoy every word of it as much as some of the materials from my handful of favorite authors. I'll have to really think about it and read it a few times over. Incredible.
06:19 September 20, 2011 by shahislam
Doesn't matter how much one earns annually but allowing $one-million

for each member of Ono's family as a year's personal enjoyment is too much imbalancing where e.g. another entire hard-working middle class family of a more intelligent guy can see in own pocket not even one hundred thousand annually! This is a disease just like atomic imbalance in a cancerous human body cell and the constant acts of trying to balance everything in our life is the meaning in our being alive. I like when someone suggests "praying to religion-less Creator" and it's mysteriously effective!

I don't like to watch unnecessarily worried mental states of people. Men-made problems are solvable by collective human intelligence free of humanly selfishness! In religion-less God's power we need to trust that acts constructive or destructively through its creations for creations.

Of course the 50% reality and 50% Cosmic drama of 9/11 involved some then real criminals who at the moment of impact became just chemicals and atomic particles that forms existence of all of the creations based on only one balancing '50% rule'. A faceless group took advantage of that event only for power and making money.

We should identify the invisible guys but with an honest attitude of forgiveness toward shortcomings of mankind with an expectation since they are human they have the mental ability to understand our generosity and won't bite us back like poisonous snakes we intentionally set free! Kill or be killed is a ugly part of cosmic rules that is applicable to wilderness or by uncivilized state of human mind(s).

I am surprised to watch the things, I co-incidentally wrote about long ago, are unfolding to become reality now.

Here is a excerpt from a document I started writing years ago for my application to the Upper Canadian Judicial system of which I really feel so proud!

...............................Today I have felt like, you OLRB have thrown at me a loaded garbage bag from your aloft position that has been entrusted to you by the gullible public who sadly and technically will never have an opportunity to question you on your responsibilities (unless people like me and myself find a painstaking positive alternative way to receive justice). This is cruel and unjust when justice is denied to an innocent person!

One thing you have done unmistakably. You have encouraged a violent employer (who hates the Jews, declared
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
Today's headlines
Unrest in Stockholm
Schools burn on fifth night of Stockholm riots

Schools burn on fifth night of Stockholm riots

At least two schools, a police station, and 15 cars were set ablaze in Stockholm on Thursday night as riots in the suburbs of the Swedish capital continued for the fifth straight night. READ () »

Unrest in Stockholm
Minister: Stockholm riots 'not youth versus society'

Minister: Stockholm riots 'not youth versus society'

With one 18-year-old remanded in custody after four nights of rioting in Stockholm, Sweden's Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag said the rioters are a small minority, and did not represent a clash between young people in the suburbs and Swedish society. READ () »

Swede of the Week
Firefighter to Stockholm rioters: I'll still help you

Firefighter to Stockholm rioters: I'll still help you

A viral Facebook post about the terror of being targeted by stone-throwing youths during to the ongoing Stockholm riots has made firefighter Mattias Lassén into something of a Swedish folk hero, and The Local's pick for Swede of the Week. READ () »

Northern Sweden Dispatches
Driving in Sweden: Elk, reindeer, and road rage

Driving in Sweden: Elk, reindeer, and road rage

Fresh from another near miss with a hulking behemoth of an elk, ex-Londoner Paul Connolly offers up a theory on how the prospect of imminent collisions with wayward wildlife affects the driving habits of Swedes up north. READ () »

Swedish parties agree to major free-school reform

Swedish parties agree to major free-school reform

The government and its main opposition have agreed to new rules governing performance requirements and profits at publicly funded, privately managed free schools. READ () »

Swedish scientists chart entire fir tree genome

Swedish scientists chart entire fir tree genome

Scientists at three Swedish universities have managed to muddle through the genetic code for fir trees, seven times larger than the human genome, with potential benefits for the Swedish forestry industry. READ () »

Swedish zoo celebrates rare elephant birth

Swedish zoo celebrates rare elephant birth

The Borås Zoo in western Sweden has welcomed a rare new elephant calf as African elephant Dudu gave birth on Wednesday after two years of pregnancy. READ () »

Unrest in Stockholm
Stockholm riots spread south on fourth night

Stockholm riots spread south on fourth night

Wednesday night saw more burning cars, smashed windows, and stone throwing at police in at least 15 suburbs around Stockholm, as the fourth night of riots swept the Swedish capital. READ () »

More Politics

 

Find a new job in Sweden now
23/05 301751
Stockholm
23/05 Account Executive
Sverige
23/05 Account Executive/Office Manager
Toolbox Marketing
Stockholm, STHM
23/05 Accounting Manager (m/f)
Stockholm
23/05 Application Owner AX
Net Entertainment
Stockholm
23/05 Area sales Manager
Gemalto
Stockholm, STHM

ALL JOBS »


 

 

Highlights
DoToday
LIFESTYLE »
What's On:The Local's guide to upcoming attractions and events in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö
www.finest.se
GALLERY »
People-watching May 20-23
Erik Bloom
LIFESTYLE »
Stockholm's ten best-kept secrets - revealed
Fredrik Sanberg/Scanpix (File)
OPINION »
'The future of freedom on the internet is at stake'
Peter Håkansson/Swedish Fashion Council
SOCIETY »
Fashion prize turns Rookies into players
La Neta
LIFESTYLE »
My Swedish Career: We talk to the founder of Stockholm's favourite Mexican restaurant chain - La Neta
Leif R Jansson/Scanpix
NATIONAL »
Riot police 'resorted to racial slurs' in Husby
Scanpix
SPORT »
Sweden win ice hockey world champs at home
Scanpix
SPORT »
Swedes sweep top French football awards
fastighetsbyrån.se
GALLERY »
Property of the Week: Check out this funky three-room apartment on the Stockholm island of Södermalm
Scanpix
GALLERY »
Sweden win Ice Hockey World Championships. See the celebrations in Stockholm
Scanpix
GALLERY »
Youths burn 100 cars in north Stockholm riots
Finest.se scanpix.se
GALLERY »
People-watching: Nightlife, Ice Hockey Gold celebrations, the royal family... You name it, this week's gallery has it
WikiCommons
BUSINESS & MONEY »
Solna voted best place to live in Sweden
Scanpix
TRAVEL »
Quiz - Think You Know Sweden? This week we head to one of Sweden's ten biggest towns. But which one?
Scanpix
LIFESTYLE »
Eurovision host: 'Not everyone has to like me'
Scanpix
LIFESTYLE »
Denmark wins Eurovision 2013 in Malmö
Paul Hansen/World Press Photo
SOCIETY »
Award-winning Swedish photographer cleared of manipulation
Scanpix
NATIONAL »
A Congolese-Swedish pastor explains the roots to recent cases of parents exorcising demons from their children in Sweden
File photo: AP
NATIONAL »
H&M backs Bangladesh building safety accord
Scanpix
GALLERY »
Eurovision: second semi-final entries
Screenshot: American Apparel
SOCIETY »
Swedes slam American Apparel over 'sexist' ads
Hasse Holmberg/Scanpix (File)
BUSINESS & MONEY »
Housing crunch forces more young Swedes to live with mum and dad
Asif Akbar/sxc.hu (File)
OPINION »
'Not all discrimination in Sweden is racism'
Lana Wimmer
GALLERY »
Hidden Stockholm Gems: Ulriksdal's Palace
Sex in Sweden: condoms optional - study
SOCIETY »
Sex in Sweden: condoms optional - study
AP (File)
POLITICS »
Russia 'lacks capacity' to attack Sweden: Reinfeldt
fastighetsbyrån.se
GALLERY »
Property of the Week: This week, we're looking inside a home from the 1700s just west of Stockholm. Complete with two cannons.
Scanpix (File)
OPINION »
JobTalk: Top ten tips for earning a higher salary in Sweden
Eddie Gee
LIFESTYLE »
Check out the back catalogue of all The Local's Swedes of the Week
Photo: The Local
SPONSORED ARTICLE
Stockholm International School - what’s in IT for students?

 

Latest news from The Local in Germany

More news from Germany at thelocal.de

Latest news from The Local in France

More news from France at thelocal.fr

Latest news from The Local in Norway

More news from Norway at thelocal.no

Latest news from The Local in Switzerland

More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch

Search News


Register

Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss

REGISTER FOR FREE »


Blog Update: Boston Blatte

20 May 15:25

Hockey. Hockey. Hockey. »

"BANG!!!! BANG!!!! BANG!!! In the midst of the Stanley Cup’s Eastern Conference semifinals series, every Bostonian knows it is all about Bruins ice hockey. Oh right. I am in Sweden, home of the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation GOLD Champions. And there is certainly no doubt ice hockey fever has taken over Sweden. A lot of Swedes,..." READ »

The Local's new Marketplace
Find products and services that are specifically focused on English speakers living in Sweden!
FULL DETAILS
Counseling in English
Individuals & Couples - Stockholm Beth Rogerson PhD - Clinical, Marriage & Family Therapist
Click or call 08-5580 1266 now
Trade binary options
Create an account with Banc De Binary, the world’s most reputable binary options firm, and start cashing in today! You can start by practicing with our free $50,000 demo account.
www.bbinary.com
Therapy in English
Expat counsellor & talk therapist offers counselling for stress, relationship issues, sexuality, culture adjustment & life coaching. Private & confidential. Stockholm or Skype. Contact me today! 08-559 22 636 or
CLICK HERE
Holiday Luxury Villa in Portugal
Casa Birgitta in Algarve, Portugal. Reduced price in best location. Private estate on white sand beach. All amenities included. Book here today! edward_george1@hotmail.com