Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger – one of the most influential diplomats of the 20th century – has died aged 100. Kissinger, who was born in Fürth, Franconia, died on Wednesday at his home in the US state of Connecticut, his consulting firm Kissinger Associates announced.
The Secretary of State under US Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford had an enormous influence on international politics after World War II, but was also highly controversial.
As national security adviser and foreign minister in the 1970s, he pushed for an easing of relations with the Soviet Union. He played a key role in the SALT I arms control treaty in 1972. He also initiated a cautious approach to communist-ruled China.
In 1973, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with North Vietnamese chief negotiator Le Duc Tho for a ceasefire agreement in the Vietnam War. But the war continued despite the agreement, and Tho even refused the price.
For critics, Kissinger became the epitome of the powerful and unscrupulous politician who enforced US interests with a heavy hand. He was sharply criticized for the shared US responsibility for Pinochet’s coup in Chile in 1973. Kissinger also approved Indonesia’s bloody invasion of East Timor in 1975.
Kissinger was born on May 27, 1927 in Fürth as Heinz Alfred Kissinger into a Jewish family of teachers. In 1938 the family fled the Nazi regime for the USA, where Kissinger later became a naturalized citizen. He taught international relations at Harvard University and was appointed National Security Advisor by President Nixon in 1969. In 1973 he was added to the position of US Secretary of State, which he held until 1977.
After his reign, the diplomatic legend with the deep, gnarly voice remained an influential advisor and wrote several books. It was only in July that Kissinger traveled to China and met President Xi Jinping there.
Now Kissinger has died at the age of 100. “With the passing of Henry Kissinger, America has lost one of its most reliable and distinctive voices in foreign policy,” said former US President George W. Bush.
Kissinger will now be buried in a private ceremony with his family, his consulting firm announced. A memorial service will be held in New York at a later date.