Henry Kissinger, the legendary diplomat who played a central role in advising Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford on foreign policy, died at his home in Connecticut late Wednesday at age 100.

Kissinger was the only person to simultaneously be secretary of state and hold the position of White House national-security adviser. In 1973, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Le Duc Tho for their work in brokering the 1973 Paris Agreement ending America’s involvement in Vietnam.

Kissinger was born in Germany in 1923, and his family fled three months before Kristallnacht bound for New York City. Kissinger served in the Army during World War II and was assigned to the 84 Infantry Division, voluntarily staying behind at the Battle of the Bulge to reportedly conduct “hazardous counter-intelligence duties” while also “making good use of his German.”

In 1960, Kissinger served as a senior policy adviser to then-New York governor Nelson Rockefeller’s Republican presidential bid. When the campaign didn’t pan out, the Harvard foreign-policy wonk migrated to Richard Nixon’s camp after he secured the nomination.

Kissinger played an integral role in opening relations with China, paving the way for President Nixon’s famous visit in 1972 and achieving breakthrough arms-control talks with the Soviet Union, culminating in the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT1) as well as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

The following year, Kissinger engaged in “shuttle diplomacy,” traveling rapidly between Middle Eastern capitals after Egypt and Syria’s surprise invasion of Israel on Yom Kippur, eventually brokering a cease-fire.