Henry Kissinger

Henry Alfred Wolfgang Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Wolfgang Kissinger; May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023), , was a German-American political scientist, diplomat, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as both National Security Advisor and later as Secretary of State in the Nixon administration and the Ford administration.

Early life
Kissinger was born in Germany in 1923. As a Jew, it was not safe for him to stay in Germany after Adolf Hitler came to power, and he left for the United States in 1933. He fought for the United States against the Germans during World War II.

Nixon administration
Kissinger was US President Richard Nixon's most trusted advisor on foreign affairs. He was in government during the Cold War and promoted what he called realpolitik of avoiding idealism in dealing with the Soviet Union and Communist China. He was a major force behind the 1973 ceasefire in the Vietnam War.

Under Kissinger, the United States opened up relations to Communist China, which is considered one of his biggest successes, to balance the power of the Soviet Union. He also supported détente, an easing of the Cold War with the Soviets.

Nobel Prize
Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ were jointly offered the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for their work on the Paris Peace Accords, which led to the withdrawal of American forces from the Vietnam War. Lê Đức Thọ declined to accept the award and said that peace had not actually been achieved in Vietnam. Kissinger donated his prize money to charity, did not attend the award ceremony, and later offered to return his prize medal after the fall of South Vietnam to North Vietnamese forces 18 months later.

Later years
In his later years, Kissinger, along with William Perry, Sam Nunn, and George Shultz, called upon governments to reduce nuclear weapons. In three Wall Street Journal articles, they proposed a program of urgent steps to that end. The four have  the Nuclear Security Project to advance thqt cause.Maclin, Beth (2008-10-20) "A Nuclear weapon-free world is possible, Nunn says", Belfer Center, Harvard University. Retrieved on 2008-10-21.

Kissinger died at the age of 100 on November 29, 2023, at his home in Kent, Connecticut, from congestive heart failure.

Legacy
His legacy is often debated by historians. Some people criticize him, even calling him a criminal, for his tactics during the Cold War, notably by supporting a military junta in Chile and backing Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Many people, however, consider Kissinger a great figure in modern American history who ended the Vietnam War, opened up China, and supported peace in the Cold War.

 References 

Other websites

Annotated Bibliography for Henry Kissinger from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues 
Official Website of Henry A. Kissinger 

"Charlie Rose"  A conversation with Henry Kissinger, December 16, 2008
Henry Kissinger speaks at the Asia Society, NYC, February 2007 
Kissinger's political donations 
NPR: Kissinger Speech at National Press Club . Towards the end [55:55], he responds to Hitchens.

Category:1923 births
Category:2023 deaths
Category:20th-century American politicians
Category:American autobiographers
Category:American centenarians
Category:American military personnel of World War II
Category:American Nobel Prize winners
Category:American political scientists
Category:Chancellors of the College of William & Mary
Category:German Jews
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Jewish American politicians
Category:Jewish American writers
Category:Jewish centenarians
Category:Jewish Nobel Prize winners
Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States
Category:Nobel Peace Prize winners
Category:People of the Vietnam War
Category:Politicians from Bavaria
Category:Republicans (United States)
Category:Time People of the Year
Category:United States Secretaries of State
Category:German Nobel Prize winners
Category:Deaths from congestive heart failure
Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery