Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft

Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft (1925–2020) was an American military officer, statesman, and one of the most respected national-security advisors in modern U.S. history. He served as national security advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush and as deputy national security advisor under Presidents Richard Nixon and Ford. During the final years of the Cold War, he helped guide U.S. policy through the reunification of Germany, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Gulf War, and the emergence of newly independent states across Eurasia.

A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, General Scowcroft served for nearly three decades in the U.S. Air Force and retired with the rank of lieutenant general. He later founded The Scowcroft Group, an international business advisory firm, and held senior positions with the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, the Atlantic Council, and numerous national-security organizations. Renowned for his integrity, sound judgment, and nonpartisan approach to public service, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 2016.

General Scowcroft was a respected supporter of constructive engagement between the United States and Azerbaijan. His tenure as national security advisor coincided with Azerbaijan’s restoration of independence and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. As a member of USACC’s Honorary Council of Advisors, he contributed his exceptional diplomatic and strategic experience to the Chamber’s mission of strengthening bilateral commercial ties, supporting Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and integration into the international community, and advancing long-term cooperation between the United States and Azerbaijan.