Former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut on Wednesday at the age of 100, Kissinger Associates, Inc. said in a statement.
Kissinger served as America’s top diplomat and national security adviser during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Nixon appointed him national security adviser in 1969, which saw the U.S. end involvement in the Vietnam War, and open up relations with China.
Former President George W. Bush gave a statement on Kissinger’s, saying the US had “lost one of the most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs”.
“Henry Kissinger will long be remembered for his many achievements in advancing the cause of peace,” the statement said. “But it was his character that we will never forget.”
Kissinger’s role was also controversial for putting rivalry with the Soviet Union over human rights and supporting repressive regimes across the world.
“That’s a reflection of their ignorance,” he said of the criticism in an interview with CBS News last year before his 100th birthday.
“I’ve been thinking about these problems all my life. It’s my hobby as well as my occupation,” he said. “And so the recommendations I made were the best of which I was then capable.”
Kissinger is survived by his wife Nancy Maginnes Kissinger, as well as by two children, Elizabeth and David.
