Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a key figure of US diplomacy in the post-World War II era, has died at the age of 100, BGNES reports.
"Dr. Henry Kissinger, a respected American scholar and statesman, died today at his home in Connecticut," Kissinger Associates announced in a statement.
It said Kissinger's family would arrange a private funeral, with a memorial service to be held later in New York. No cause of death was given.
Kissinger was active even as a centenarian, traveling to China in July to meet with President Xi Jinping. China was one of Kissinger's most lasting legacies. Hoping to shake up the Cold War battle against the Soviet Union, Kissinger secretly reached out to China, culminating in the historic 1972 visit of President Richard Nixon and the later establishment of US-Beijing relations.
After the Watergate scandal ousted Nixon, Kissinger served under his successor, Gerald Ford. In an unprecedented arrangement, Kissinger served as both secretary of state and national security adviser.
Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an end to the Vietnam War, although the conflict continued afterward and his North Vietnamese counterpart Le Duc Tho refused to accept the award.
While Kissinger's intellectual gifts were grudgingly acknowledged even by his critics, he remained deeply controversial for his ruthless philosophy of realpolitik—the hard-hearted conclusion that nations pursue their own interests through force. /BGNES
