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Cold War-era leading US diplomat Henry Kissinger passes away at the age of 100.

Nov. 29 (Reuters) - Henry Kissinger, the leading American diplomat of the Cold War era, passed away at the age of 100. Kissinger was despised by opponents of human rights but helped Washington open up to China, negotiate arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, and end the Vietnam War.

Kissinger, a Jewish refugee from Germany whose career took him from academia to diplomacy and who continued to be an influential figure in foreign affairs into his later years, passed away at home on Wednesday, according to his geopolitical consulting firm, Kissinger Associates Inc. Kissinger was at the pinnacle of his career in the midst of the Cold War in the 1970s, when he served as secretary of state and national security adviser to Republican President Richard Nixon.

President Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon as secretary of state, and Nixon continued to play a significant diplomatic role after his resignation in 1974 due to the Watergate affair.

He was the driving force behind the U.S.-Soviet arms limitation negotiations, the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam, increased relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the U.S. diplomatic opening with China.

Kissinger's backing for anti-communist dictatorships, particularly in Latin America, caused some to label him a war criminal, while many applauded him for his intelligence and statesmanship. His travels in his later years were restricted by attempts by certain countries to have him arrested or interrogated over previous U.S. foreign policy.

Although it was one of the most contentious Peace Prizes ever, he was awarded it in 1973 for ending US involvement in the Vietnam War. Concerns regarding the covert American bombing of Cambodia led to the resignation of two Nobel committee members. Le Duc Tho, a diplomat from North Vietnam who was chosen to share the honor, turned it down.

Beijing referred to him as a "good old friend of the Chinese people" who made significant contributions to the normalization of relations between the two nations as gifts for him came in from all over the world.

Kissinger was described as a "wise and farsighted statesman" by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called their discussions with Kissinger "a masterclass in statesmanship."

Kissinger, with his characteristic German accent, was never afraid to share his thoughts. In addition to prickliness and self-assurance, Ford labeled him a "super secretary of state" and said, "Henry in his mind never made a mistake."

Just before he passed away in 2006, Ford told an interviewer, "He had the thinnest skin of any public figure I ever knew."

HARVARD FACILTY

Born on May 27, 1923, in Fuerth, Germany, Heinz Alfred Kissinger immigrated to the United States with his family in 1938, just before the Nazi drive to eradicate European Jewry began.

After changing his name to Henry and naturalizing as a citizen of the United States in 1943, Kissinger fought in the Army in Europe during World War II and was awarded a scholarship to study at Harvard University, where he was appointed to the faculty in 1954 after receiving his doctorate.

For a large portion of that period, Kissinger worked as a consultant for government organizations, even acting as a go-between for the State Department in Vietnam in 1967. He informed the Nixon team about peace talks by utilizing his contacts in the Democratic administration of President Lyndon Johnson.

Nixon appointed Kissinger as national security adviser after his promise to stop the Vietnam War helped him win the 1968 presidential election.

However, the "Vietnamization" process—which involved turning over command of the war from American forces to South Vietnamese forces—was a protracted and brutal one that was interspersed with heavy American bombing of North Vietnam, harbor mining in the North, and bombardment of Cambodia.

Though the Paris Peace Accords, signed in January 1973, were little more than a pretext for the final Communist conquest of the South two years later, Kissinger declared in 1972 that "peace is at hand" in Vietnam.

In 1973, Kissinger was appointed secretary of state, granting him unopposed power in international relations, in addition to his position as national security adviser.

As the Arab-Israeli conflict grew more intense, Kissinger was sent on his first "shuttle" mission—a type of intensely personal, high-stakes diplomacy for which he gained notoriety. 

Kissinger was instrumental in negotiating a durable disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, having spent thirty-two days traveling back and forth between Jerusalem and Damascus.

Kissinger extended out to China, the Soviet Union's main communist adversary, and made two visits there, one of which was covert in order to see Premier Zhou Enlai. The end result was the formalization of relations between the two nations and Nixon's historic summit with Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing.

As a "tireless advocate for peace," former U.S. ambassador to China Winston Lord described his former boss to Reuters, saying, "America has lost a towering champion for the national interest."

ARMS STRATEGIC ACCOR

In 1974, while serving as secretary of state, Kissinger traveled to Vladivostok, the Soviet Union, with President Ford. There, they met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and came to an agreement on the fundamentals of a strategic weapons agreement. The deal put an end to Kissinger's trailblazing detente efforts that reduced hostilities between the US and the USSR.Kissinger was a skilled diplomat, but he had limitations. He was held accountable in 1975 for his inability to convince Egypt and Israel to consent to a second phase of disengagement in the Sinai.

Additionally, Nixon and Kissinger came under fire for favoring Pakistan during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. The Indians were referred to as "bastards" by Kissinger, a term he subsequently expressed regret for.

Like Nixon, he was concerned about the development of left-wing ideologies throughout the Western Hemisphere. As a result of his activities, many Latin Americans harbored a strong mistrust of Washington for many years to come.

He had conspired with the CIA in 1970 on how to overthrow Salvador Allende, the democratically elected Marxist president of Chile, and he had written a memo endorsing the military dictatorship in Argentina following the brutal coup in 1976.

Ford's 1976 defeat to Democrat Jimmy Carter signaled the end of Kissinger's time in government. Ronald Reagan, the next Republican to hold the presidency, disassociated himself from Kissinger because he thought the former was too liberal for his conservative base.

Following his departure from government service, Kissinger established a prestigious, high-powered consulting firm in New York that provided counsel to the global corporate elite. In addition to writing books and serving on company boards and many foreign policy and security forums, he also became a prominent television commentator on world affairs.

President George W. Bush appointed Henry Kissinger to lead an inquiry group following the events of September 11, 2001. However, Kissinger was compelled to resign due to protests from Democrats who perceived a conflict of interest with many of the clients of his consulting firm.

In his later years, he continued to be involved in public life, giving testimony before a Senate committee over North Korea's nuclear danger, authoring a book on leadership, and attending meetings in the White House. He unexpectedly traveled to Beijing in July 2023 to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

After divorcing Ann Fleischer, his first wife, in 1964, he wed Nancy Maginnes, a governor of New York's aide, in 1974. He and his first wife had two children.

In the announcement announcing his passing, Kissinger Associates Inc. stated that Kissinger would be laid to rest at a private family service and that a public memorial service in New York City would take place later.

Source Reuters