- Kissinger, secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford, died on Wednesday at the age of 100
- The influential and controversial statesman lived a remarkable life after fleeing Nazi Germany as a boy
- He won the Nobel Peace Prize and broke down barriers with China, but polarized his critics
Advertisement
The remarkable life of Henry Kissinger is in the spotlight after the influential statesman died on Wednesday at the age of 100.
From his youth in Germany, where his family fled Nazi persecution, to his role as chief architect of US foreign policy in the Nixon and Ford administrations, Kissinger’s life intersected with some of the pivotal global events of the past century.
The diplomatic powerhouse won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his role in ending the Vietnam War — although his selection was one of the most controversial in the award’s history, prompting two Nobel committee members to resign.
A statesman, author, scholar, Army veteran, and unlikely ladies’ man, Kissinger played many roles during life.
He also remained active on the world stage even after turning 100, attending White House meetings, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
Henry Kissinger (left) is seen circa 1933 at age 11 with his brother Walter, then 10, as children in pre-war Germany. His family fled the country in 1938 to escape Nazi persecution of Jewish people
Henry Kissinger is seen in 1962, when he worked as a consultant to President John F Kennedy, and Associate Professor of Government at Harvard University
Henry Kissinger, then Nixon’s National Security Adviser, works in his office on the northwest corner of the West Wing of the White House in Washington DC in August 1970
President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger stand at an Oval Office window in DC on February 10, 1971
US Special envoy Henry Kissinger (R) meets with China’s Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, July 1971 in Beijing, during a secret visit to China that paved the way to a thawing of relations
Kissinger is seen third from right in China in 1972, as Nixon visited Beijing for a groundbreaking summit with Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao Zedong
Kissinger and his wife Nancy watch a football match in Washington DC on April 4, 1974, a month after their wedding
Kissinger faces international press at a news conference in Schloss Klessheim in Salzburg, Germany on June 11, 1974
President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger laugh together after Clinton gave the closing remarks at a national policy conference, March 1, 1995, in Washington DC
Kissinger meets with then-Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush at the Governor’s mansion in Austin, Texas on 12 July 2000
Pope Benedict XVI greets former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger during a private meeting at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, on September 28, 2006
Kissinger talks with Joe Biden, then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Capitol Hill in January 2007 prior to Kissinger testifying before the committee about Iraq
President Barack Obama speaks during a meeting on the new START Treaty as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger looks on November 18, 2010 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC
Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) is introduced by former U.S. National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at a policy speech to Chinese and United States CEOs during a dinner reception in Seattle on September 22, 2015
President Donald Trump meets with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office on October 10, 2017
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk