30 Nov 2023 at 05:27
American statesman Henry Alfred Kissinger died Wednesday at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. Kissinger served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
Kissinger was also a diplomat, political scientist, geopolitical advisor and politician. In the 1970s, as foreign minister under Nixon, he was involved in several important global events. Kissinger was one of the architects of the Paris Peace Accords, which ended the Vietnam War.
His diplomatic efforts also led to American rapprochement with China, to arms control talks between the US and the Soviet Union, and to improved relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Kissinger’s reputation as the chief architect of American foreign policy waned with Nixon’s resignation in 1974 over the Watergate scandal. Yet he remained a diplomatic force even under his successor Gerald Ford.
Henry Kissinger met president Richard Nixon in 1972.Foto: Reuters
After his career as a government official, Kissinger founded an influential consulting firm in New York, where his clients included members of the global business elite. He held various administrative positions in foreign policy and security, wrote books and became a regular media commentator on international affairs.
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush chose Kissinger to head an investigative commission. But outrage from Democrats who saw a conflict of interest with many of his consulting firm’s clients forced Kissinger to resign from office.
But Kissinger continued to express his opinions on geopolitical issues for the rest of his life. Even after his hundredth birthday, Kissinger was still active. He attended meetings at the White House, published a book on leadership styles and testified before a Senate committee on North Korea’s nuclear threat. In July, he even visited Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Labeled by critics as a war criminal
Many praised Kissinger for his genius and wide experience, but others labeled him a war criminal for his support of anti-communist dictatorships, especially in Latin America.
In the last years of his life, his travels were limited by attempts by other countries to arrest him or interrogate him about past American foreign policy.
Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his role in negotiating the departure of the US military in Vietnam. Le Duc Tho from North Vietnam also received the prize, but he refused it.
The award was one of the most controversial ever. Two members of the Nobel Committee resigned over Kissinger’s selection. They were critical of the American secret bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
2023-11-30 04:27:43
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