Former US national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski dies aged 89

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Zbigniew Brzezinski helped bring down economic barriers between the Soviet Union, China and the West Credit: AP

Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security adviser to US President Jimmy Carter, has died aged 89.

His death was announced by his daughter, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski, who called him "the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have".

Writing on Instagram she said: "He was known to his friends as Zbig, to his grandchildren as Chief and to his wife as the enduring love of her life."

Brzezinski, a foreign police hawk, was most recently involved in proceedings designed to bring the former Soviet republics into NATO, but he enjoyed his greatest successes under Carter, helping bring down economic barriers between the Soviet Union, China and the West.

He also helped Carter to bridge wide gaps between Egyptian and Israeli leaders Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, paving the way for the Camp David accords.

However, the Carter years also took in the Iranian hostage crisis, which came to symbolise the administration's failures and frustrations.

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 for his work in helping to normalise relations between China and the US.