Henry Kissinger, the American diplomat and presidential adviser who left his mark on U.S. foreign policy for decades, has passed away at the age of 100.
Kissinger, born in Germany and later a prominent figure in American politics, died on Wednesday at his home in Connecticut, according to a statement from Kissinger Associates.
During his lengthy career, Kissinger was both lauded as a brilliant strategist and criticized as a master manipulator. He was known for his role in forging the policy of détente with the Soviet Union, initiating a thaw in relations with China, and winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his involvement in negotiating the Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
However, some of his actions were subject to debate and controversy. In 2002, journalist Seymour Hersh claimed that “the dark side of Henry Kissinger is very, very dark.”
Apart from his political career, Kissinger was also known for his charm and charisma and was romantically linked to several actresses including Jill St. John, Shirley MacLaine, and Candice Bergen.
With his quintessential bespectacled and portly appearance, Kissinger was an unlikely symbol of power and influence. Yet he was known for his incredible work ethic and often joked that “there cannot be a crisis next week, my schedule is already full.”
Even after leaving public office, Kissinger continued to wield global influence. He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in July, who paid tribute to the former American diplomat and credited him for his contribution to strengthening relations between the U.S. and China.
Kissinger was also instrumental in the normalization of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and China under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. In a 1980 interview with Time magazine, Kissinger remarked, “The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself.”
Kissinger is survived by his wife Nancy, whom he married in 1974, and his two children from his previous marriage, David and Elizabeth.
Born Heinz Alfred Kissinger in Germany in 1923, Kissinger’s intellectual prowess was evident from a young age. His family fled Nazi Germany in 1938 and settled in New York City. After serving in the U.S. military and becoming a citizen, Kissinger attended Harvard University where he earned multiple degrees and eventually joined the faculty.
He then became an adviser to government agencies under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson before being appointed national security adviser to Nixon in 1969. As one of the key architects of U.S. foreign policy, Kissinger was known to hold a significant amount of power and often bypassed the secretary of state.
After Nixon resigned in 1974, Kissinger remained in his role as national security adviser and was later appointed secretary of state by President Ford. When Ford lost the election in 1976, Kissinger left politics to return to academia and founded the international consulting firm Kissinger Associates.
He also wrote several books on public policy and memoirs, reflecting on his role as a statesman and the importance of visionary and transformative leadership.
In his 1982 book “Years of Upheaval,” Kissinger summarized his own role as a statesman, saying, “Statesmen create; ordinary leaders consume. [An] ordinary leader is satisfied with ameliorating the environment, not transforming it; a statesman must be a visionary and an educator.”
With his passing, the world has lost a complex and controversial figure who has left an indelible mark on modern politics and international relations.