and in February 2008, Hill was awarded the "Building Bridges" Award by the Pacific Century Institute. The recipients are recognized as people who have enhanced relations between Americans and Asians and who exemplify PCI's commitment to building bridges to a better future. In 2012, Hill was appointed as an honorary Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2013 New Year Honours. Controversies In a September 8, 2016 segment with anchors Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Willie Geist on MSNBC's Morning Joe that appeared following 2016 Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson's appearance on the news program that same day, Hill criticized Johnson for his lack of knowledge on the location and significance of Aleppo, Syria during the earlier interview with the hosts and Mike Barnicle. He mocked Johnson for his apparent confusion and "blank stare," proclaiming that he would likely be forevermore known as "Aleppo Johnson" and that it would probably be the end of his presidential bid, but himself erroneously referred to Aleppo as "the capital of ISIS" despite having previously served as the US Ambassador to neighboring Iraq. While Scarborough, Brzezinski, and Geist did not correct this verbal mistake on-air, numerous news outlets and commentators noted Hill's own gaffe in their coverage of Johnson, and critiqued him for his hypocrisy. In March 2018, Hill referred to the passage of the anti-defamation legislation by the Polish parliament as "revenge of the peasants". Personal life Hill is married to the former Julie Ann Ryczek, a school teacher and health and nutrition advocate from Treasure Island, Florida. He has three grown children, Nathaniel, Amelia and Clara. Hill speaks Serbo-Croatian, Polish, Macedonian and French. Publications Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: a Memoir (Simon and Schuster, 2014). Citations External links State Department profile America in a New World column archive at Project Syndicate The Beijing Accord and the Future of the Six-Party Talks Christopher Hill's comments at U.S. Institute of Peace, September 2005 (Audio) Longtime Statesman Puts Best Face Forward for U.S., Glenn Kessler, 'Washington Post, September 21, 2005 Speech at the University of Chicago in April 2006 at Chicago Society's "China and the Future of the World" conference "Notable Former Volunteers / Foreign Service". Peace Corps official site. Accessed 5 January 2007. Peace Corps Biography of Christopher R. Hill Hill reviews Six-party talk strategy, expresses optimism for the future of negotiations with North Korea in the Harvard