A longtime advisor to Presidents George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford has died. Retired Air Force General Brent Scowcroft died of natural causes at his home at the age of 95. The namesake of the Texas A&M Bush school institute for international affairs, Scowcroft was the only person to serve as national security adviser to two different administrations.
The dean of the Bush school, retired General Mark Welsh, issued the following statement:
“Our world is a lesser place today after losing Lieutenant General (retired) Brent Scowcroft. I believe historians will characterize General Scowcroft as one of the greatest national security strategists in American history. And I know that anyone who knew him would also characterize him as one of the greatest gentlemen they ever met. Rest in peace, Sir; please say hi to “41” for us. The Bush School will ensure our nation never forgets either one of you.“
WASHINGTON (AP) — A longtime adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush has died. Brent Scowcroft was 95. A spokesperson for the late President Bush says Scowcroft died Thursday of natural causes at his home in Falls Church, Virginia. Scowcroft was the only person to serve as national security adviser to two different administrations. His appointment by Ford in 1975 came as Scowcroft retired from the Air Force with the rank of lieutenant general. He advised Bush during the four years of the Bush administration, 1989-93. He was also a Republican voice against the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Biography from the Texas A&M Bush School’s Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs:
Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, USAF (Ret.), is one of the nation’s preeminent authorities on international policy. He is the founder and President of The Forum for International Policy, a non-partisan, non-profit organization providing independent analyses and perspectives on major foreign policy issues. He is also President of The Scowcroft Group, Inc., an international business advisory firm.
General Scowcroft served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush. He also served as Military Assistant to President Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs to Presidents Ford and Nixon. Prior to joining the Bush Administration, General Scowcroft was Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc.
In the course of his military career, General Scowcroft held positions in the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Headquarters of the U.S. Air Force; and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Other assignments included faculty positions at the U. S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and Assistant Air Attache in the American Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
General Scowcroft currently serves as a Director of the Qualcomm Corporation. He also serves on the University of California President’s Council on the National Laboratories. He serves as Chairman of the American-Turkish Council (ATC). He is President of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and the International Advisory Board of the Atlantic Council of the United States. He is also a Member of the Board of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, the George C. Marshall Foundation, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the International Republican Institute, the National Defense University, and the American Council on Germany. He also serves as an Advisory Board Member of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
General Scowcroft has chaired or served on a number of policy advisory councils, including the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board; the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change; the Eisenhower Institute; the President’s General Advisory Committee on Arms Control; the President’s Commission on Strategic Forces; the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management; the Defense Policy Board; and the President’s Special Review Board (Tower Board) investigating the Iran-Contra affair.
General Scowcroft has an aeronautical rating as a pilot and has numerous military decorations and awards. In addition, President George H. W. Bush presented him with the Medal of Freedom Award in 1991, the nation’s highest civilian award. In 1993, he was presented with the insignia of an Honorary Knight of the British Empire (K.B.E.) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.
General Scowcroft was born in Ogden, Utah. He received his undergraduate degree and commission into the Army Air Forces from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he was recently recognized as a Distinguished Graduate. He received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University. He also is the recipient of the following honorary degrees: Doctor of National Security Affairs from National Defense University; Doctor of Humane Letters from the Medical University of South Carolina; Public Service Doctorate from Brigham Young University; Doctor of Humanities from the University of Utah; LHD from the College of William and Mary; LLD from Columbia University; Degree from DePaul University; and LLD from George Washington University.
General Scowcroft was married to the late Marian Horner Scowcroft and has one daughter.