Henry Kissinger: Who is the former Secretary of State?

Henry Kissinger has made a lot of dire statements to the press recently concerning the growing tension between the US, China, and Russia. But who is he?

Who is Henry Kissinger?

Henry Kissinger was born Heinz Kissinger in 1923 in Fürth, a city in Bavaria, Germany. Fleeing Nazi persecution of Jews, his family immigrated to the United States in 1938. Settling in New York, they spoke English at home, and the name Heinz was changed to Henry, as reported by The New Yorker.

In 1942, Kissinger was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving as a German interpreter during World War II. He became a naturalised citizen in 1943. After the war, Kissinger enrolled at Harvard University where he earned a B.A., M.A., and a Ph.D.

From 1954 until 1971, Kissinger was a member of Harvard's faculty. He also served as a consultant to several government agencies throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1957, Kissinger released the book that made him a public figure and authority on U.S. strategic policy, Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy,as per Britannica.

Kissinger became a foreign policy adviser to New York governor and Republican presidential hopeful Nelson Rockefeller. In 1968, President-elect Richard Nixon chose him to be his National Security Adviser.

According to the Office of the Historian, Nixon then made an unprecedented move by appointing Kissinger as his new Secretary of State, while simultaneously remaining in the role of National Security Adviser. He was the first foreign-​born citizen to hold that office, the highest-​ranking post after the presidency and vice presidency, as per John Hopkins University.

'One of the most important theorists about foreign policy'

By this time, Kissinger was debatably 'one of the most important theorists about foreign policy ever to be produced by the United States of America', according to his official biographer Niall Ferguson. So much so, that the terms 'Kissingerology' and 'Kissingerian' have been coined.

For his supposed resolution of the Vietnam war under the Nixon administration, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973. He shared the award with North Vietnamese politician and diplomat Le Duc Tho, however Tho refused the honour.

Kissinger, now 99-years-old, has written 19 books. In his latest, Leadership, he has written about the conflicts between Russia and Europe, and the US and China. In recent interviews promoting his new book, Kissinger has issued several warnings about a potential war between the US, China, and Russia.

Read more:

⋙ Henry Kissinger warns the US is 'at the edge of war' as China sends troops to Russia

⋙ Henry Kissinger warns the US about an ‘endless confrontation’ with China

⋙ Henry Kissinger warns of war: 'China and the USA are capable of destroying humanity'