By Ken Afor
Henry Kissinger, the renowned foreign policy advisor for presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and a former US Secretary of State, has died at his home in Connecticut, according to the statement from his consulting firm on Wednesday.
He was 100 years old and left behind his two children by his first wife.
In a statement, Kissinger Associates said: ‘Henry Kissinger, a respected American scholar and statesman, died today at his home in Connecticut.’
Despite being well over a century (100) old, he still managed to make a surprise visit to Beijing in July 2023 to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping; all while attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
He was Secretary of State under Republican President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, and had a key role in shaping the world-altering events of the decade.
The efforts of the German-born Jewish refugee resulted in China engaging in diplomatic relations, significant US-Soviet arms control conversations, more connections developing between Israel and the Arab nations nearby, as well as the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam being established.
Kissinger’s reign as the prime architect of US foreign policy waned with Nixon’s resignation in 1974.
The German-Jewish refugee’s endeavors resulted in the start of diplomatic associations between China and the US and the Soviet Union, an increase in relationships between Israel and its Arabic neighboring countries, as well as the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam.
During his diplomatic years, Kissinger was highly praised for his exceptional intelligence and deep knowledge of international relations.
However, his later travels were largely confined due to the attempts of other countries to prosecute him over his past US foreign policies.
In 1964, he divorced his first wife, Ann Fleischer, and went on to marry Nancy Maginnes, an aide to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, in 1974.
Kissenger’s efforts resulted in China diplomatic opening, US-Soviet negotiations on arms control, better relations between Israel and the Arab world, and the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam.
In recognition of these actions, Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, sharing it with North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho; however, this proved to be one of the most contentious awards in Nobel Peace Prize history.
The Nobel committee selected two individuals for their involvement in the Paris peace talks in order to arrange the withdrawal of US troops, establish a ceasefire, and preserve the South Vietnamese government.
Nevertheless, two Nobel committee members resigned in objection to this choice, and Tho rejected the prize as the efforts had not yet brought peace.
In 1973, Henry Kissinger not only became the National Security Advisor, but also took on the role of Secretary of State, giving him ultimate control in foreign affairs.
With an escalating Arab-Israeli conflict, Kissinger embarked on his first ‘shuttle’ mission, a style of intense, personal diplomacy that earned him a reputation.
Kissinger’s 32-day journey between Jerusalem and Damascus assisted in the creation of a lasting disengagement arrangement between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights.
Additionally, in order to decrease the Soviet Union’s power, he also made two visits to Communist China, one of which was a clandestine trip to meet Premier Zhou Enlai.
Nixon and Chairman Mao Zedong held a historic summit in Beijing which led to formalizing relations between the two countries.
Heinz Alfred Kissinger, born in May 1923, changed his name to Henry and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1938 to escape the Nazi’s persecution of Jewish people.
After becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943, Kissinger continued to thrive in the U.S.
After a brief stint in the Army during World War Two, Henry Kissinger made his way to Harvard University on a scholarship.
In 1952, he earned a master’s degree, followed by a doctorate in 1954.
He remained a part of Harvard’s faculty for the next seventeen years following his education.
Meanwhile, Kissinger had relocated to Washington Heights in Manhattan’s Upper West Side and enrolled in the local public high school.
In 1977, Kissinger’s involvement with a presidential administration came to an end, yet he still had a bond with George W. Bush.
Subsequently, when the president wanted to name Kissinger to head a committee that analyzed the September 11, 2001 atrocity, Kissinger declined the offer, declining to divulge his consulting business’ customers’ identities.
