Ambassador Mark Brzezinski expresses gratitude for the Medal "For Merit to the SGH Warsaw School of Economics" in 2025

Thank you so much SGH. Thank the leadership of SGH, thank you students of SGH – I congratulate you with the completion of this academic year. To receive this award in Poland in 2025 is so special for me. “The Economist” magazine three weeks ago had on its cover the story The remarkable rise of Poland. On the cover of “The Economist” magazine one of the world’s most important magazines. And it told the story esentially esentially of this country, your parents and you. I say this as an American of Polish background, of “polskie pochodzenie”. 

You have won. You have created a sovereign free democratic and increasingly prosperous country. When I finished up as ambassador, as the United States Ambassador to Poland in January, I reported back to Washington to President Biden that today Poland militarily can defend itself. It has the biggest army in Europe, bigger than France’s, bigger than Italy's.

Poland can power itself. It is investing in the energy generation of the future, whether it is LNG or alternatives or nuclear or renewables.  It is showing itself as a humanitarian acute superpower in its embrace of the Ukrainian refugees and its support of a country being pulverized in Ukraine. It is able to pay for itself because Poland is the economic wonder of the world.  It is such a powerfully attractive economy right now. Business is booming in Poland. It is a democratic example. Free and fair elections produce results, whether on the left, on the right, they are free and fair elections, what an example of the world.  So in this way, you have won.

The only thing that I would say to SGH, to this remarkable university that teaches the leaders of the future, is to tell your story more. Two few people know about the miracle of Poland, about the opportunity of Poland, about the potential of Poland, about the amazing young generation here.

I was ambassador to Sweden. The Swedes tell their story super well. They have these wonderful formulations. Sweden, reaching the future first. In fact, the Nobel Prizes and Sciences are a great brand for Sweden and Poland has so many positive ways of branding itself, but more needs to be done. And I think SGH would be an important ecosystem out of which that thinking of what is the best way to brand this country around the world so that it is globally competitive. 

That is what I wish for you, but I say thank you. I say thank you for three remarkable years as US ambassador here. It was, it exceeded my expectations in every way to become an ambassador. And the “gościnność” (hospitality) that I received here was remarkable. We did a lot together. I'm proud of it. Thank you so much.