Henry Kissinger (1923-2023) Obituary Reactions Life in Photos Key Moments 2011 Interview
Henry Kissinger in Paris in 2006. Credit...Derek Hudson/Getty Images
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Henry Kissinger’s Life and Work in Photos
The U.S. diplomat rose from a bookish childhood in Germany to become a power player in the halls of American politics.
Henry Kissinger in Paris in 2006.Credit...Derek Hudson/Getty Images
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By The New York Times
Nov. 30, 2023
When Henry A. Kissinger, the powerful former secretary of state, died on Wednesday at 100, he left behind a complicated legacy: He advised 12 presidents and transformed the United States’ relationship with China, but came under fire for what his critics said was a fundamental disregard of human rights.
Mr. Kissinger altered almost every global relationship he touched, and he was at turns hailed as an ultrarealist who reshaped diplomacy to reflect American interests and denounced as having abandoned American values, if he thought it served the nation’s purposes.
Born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923, in Germany, he fled to the United States in 1938 to escape the Nazis. After studying and then teaching at Harvard, he joined the Nixon White House in 1969.
He shared the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for ending the American involvement in Vietnam, an honor that outraged his critics. After leaving the State Department, Mr. Kissinger remained in the spotlight as a consultant and a writer.
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