Henry Kissinger, a Cold War diplomat and presidential adviser called one of the more consequential and controversial figures of the 20th century, died Thursday at age 100, national media reported.
Kissinger, who spoke with a European accent, became “an unlikely media star” during his time as secretary of state for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, The New York Times reported. The newspaper said Kissinger leaves a complicated legacy. Kissinger won praise for opening U.S. dialogue with Communist China and helping end war between Israel and Egypt. At the same time Kissinger was assailed for his role in the secret carpet bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
As a diplomat, Kissinger assisted Nixon with the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT) treaties to reduce nuclear arms in the United States and the Soviet Union. “He was quick to understand that when threats change, we need to think anew,” former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), co-founder of the Nuclear Threat Institute said in a statement. Kissinger helped work “toward a world without nuclear weapons,” Nunn added.
Born Heinz Kissinger, his family fled Nazi Germany and came to America in 1938 and Kissinger himself became a U.S. citizen in 1943, according to his obituary press release from Kissinger Associates. After earning degrees, including a doctorate, from Harvard, Kissinger taught at the school before President Nixon made him national security adviser in 1969. Kissinger was a prolific writer, and co-authored a book on artificial intelligence at age 96.
