THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 5, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
The Telegraph
The Telegraph
30 Nov 2023


Henry Kissinger, US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies aged 100

Henry Kissinger, the diplomatic powerhouse whose service under two presidents left a lifelong mark on US foreign policy, has died at the age of 100.

The diplomat, best known for his time as Secretary of State to Richard Nixon, continued to be closely involved in global foreign policy past his hundredth birthday – visiting Xi Jinping in Beijing in July this year.

“Dr. Henry Kissinger, a respected American scholar and statesman, died today at his home in Connecticut,” his consultancy Kissinger Associates said in a statement on Wednesday.

Although his foreign policy decisions and their association with the doctrine of “realism” were controversial, he survived the resignation of Mr Nixon in 1974 and continued to offer advice in that post to his successor, Gerald Ford.

Kissinger with Chairman Mao, Gerald Ford and Ford's daughter Susan in Beijing in 1975
Kissinger with Chairman Mao, Gerald Ford and Ford's daughter Susan in Beijing in 1975 Credit: REUTERS
At a charity dinner with Princess Diana in New York
At a charity dinner with Princess Diana in New York in 1995 Credit: PA

His 1973 Peace Prize - awarded jointly to North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho, who would decline it - was one of the most controversial ever. Two members of the Nobel committee resigned over the selection and questions arose about the US secret bombing of Cambodia.

Serving first as National Security Adviser to the Nixon administration, Mr Kissinger was closely associated with the US policy of “Vietnamisation” in the 1970s, as the burden of the war transferred from American troops to Southern Vietnamese forces.

He was given the role of Secretary of State in 1973, serving for one year before becoming an informal adviser to presidents on foreign policy and running his own geopolitical consulting firm in New York City from 1982.

Kissinger after being appointed Secretary of State by Nixon in 1973. He was the first naturalised US citizen to hold the role
Kissinger after being appointed Secretary of State by Nixon in 1973. He was the first naturalised US citizen to hold the role Credit: GETTY IMAGES
With Ted Heath in 1974
With Ted Heath in 1974 Credit: HULTON ARCHIVE

His influence in government waned under the next Republican president, Ronald Reagan, and he moved to international speaking events, private work and writing more than a dozen books.

He was invited to the White House to speak with every president after Mr Ford, apart from Joe Biden, and celebrated his 100th birthday in May.

Although influential, Mr Kissinger’s legacy was controversial and he invited criticism from opponents of his policy on Vietnam, the bombing of Cambodia and the invasion of Timor-Leste in 1975.

Kissinger with Sir Alec Douglas Home, Britain's foreign secretary, in 1973
Kissinger with Sir Alec Douglas Home, Britain's foreign secretary, in 1973 Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Kissinger at the Kremlin with Putin in 2009
Kissinger at the Kremlin with Putin in 2009 Credit: GETTY IMAGES

In the India-Pakistan War of 1971, Mr Nixon and Mr Kissinger were heavily criticised for tilting toward Pakistan.

Mr Kissinger was heard calling the Indians “bastards” - a remark he later said he regretted.

Anthony Bourdain, the late food critic, once said: “Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands.”

Anti-Kissinger protesters in 1992 outside the Royal Albert Hall, where he was giving a speech
Anti-Kissinger protesters in 1992 outside the Royal Albert Hall, where he was giving a speech Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Christopher Hitchens, the British polemicist, dedicated an entire book to his legacy entitled The Trial of Henry Kissinger.

Nonetheless, the German-born Jewish refugee’s efforts led to the diplomatic opening of China, landmark US-Soviet arms control talks, expanded ties between Israel and its Arab neighbours, and the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam.

After the 9/11 attacks, President George W Bush picked Kissinger to head an investigative committee.

Outcry from Democrats who saw a conflict of interest with many of his consulting firm’s clients forced him to step down from the post.