Henry Kissinger Dies At 100

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died at his home in Connecticut on Wednesday at the age of 100.

Born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923, he changed his name to Henry after his family fled nazi Germany in 1938 and settled in Manhattan, New York.

While he played his most prominent role in United States foreign policy between 1969 and 1977 as United States National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State for US Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, he remained an influential – and deeply controversial – figure in American politics for his entire life.

“America has lost one of the most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs with the passing of Henry Kissinger,” said former US President George W. Bush, one of many public figures to pay homage.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, said, “Henry Kissinger’s strategy and excellence in diplomacy has shaped global politics throughout the 20th century. His influence and legacy will continue to reverberate well into the 21st century.”

Martin Indyk, former US. Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and author of ‘Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the art of middle east diplomacy’, said, “Kissinger was a man of history, but he was also a student of history, and his knowledge of history, his deep understanding, particularly of European 19th-century history, informed his whole approach to the world.

“He was deeply skeptical of those who would aim to try to achieve a peaceful world. He was much more focused on establishing order because order was more reliable than peace.”

Order Over Peace

Even decades after his tenure as United States National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, Kissinger remained a deeply divisive figure. He advocated for a realpolitik approach, focusing on practical and pragmatic policies rather than strictly adhering to ideology. Critics argued that this approach involved compromising on human rights and supporting authoritarian regimes in pursuit of strategic interests, and came at a huge human cost.

Kissinger was linked to US support for various authoritarian regimes in Latin America during the Cold War. This support was often justified as part of the broader strategy against the perceived spread of communism.

One of the most controversial examples was the US support of the coup which overthrew Chile’s socialist president Salvador Allende in 1973. The CIA, with the approval of Kissinger, supported efforts to destabilise Allende’s government. Ultimately, a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende in 1973, leading to a brutal dictatorship.

Under the Nixon administration, Kissinger also played a role in the covert bombing operations in Cambodia and Laos, as part of the US involvement in the Vietnam War. Carried out between 1964 and 1973, Operation Barrell Roll led former US President Barack Obama to describe Laos as “the most heavily bombed” nation in history.

Nobel Peace Prize

Credited with ending American involvement in the Vietnam War, he received a controversial Nobel Peace Prize in 1973. Two members of the Nobel committee resigned over the selection while North Vietnamese diplomat Lê Đức Thọ, who was to jointly receive the award, declined it.

Reacting to Kissinger’s death, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “The name of Henry Kissinger is inextricably linked with a pragmatic foreign policy line, which at one time made it possible to achieve detente in international tensions and reach the most important Soviet-American agreements that contributed to the strengthening of global security.

“I had the opportunity to personally communicate with this deep, extraordinary man many times, and I will undoubtedly retain the fondest memory of him.”

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