Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dead at 100

Henry Kissinger, noted diplomat, political scientist, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient for negotiating the end to the Vietnam War, died Wednesday at his home in Connecticut, according to a statement from the company he founded. He was 100. No cause of death was given. 

How did he get into politics? Born in 1923 in Furth, Germany, Kissinger fled with his Jewish family to the United States in 1938 after the rise of Adolph Hitler. He became a Harvard professor of government and international affairs and advised Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He impressed Richard Nixon, who became president in 1969 and took Kissinger to the White House as his national security adviser. Kissinger then served as U.S. Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977. During that time, he conducted secret meetings with the North Vietnamese while counseling Nixon to increase bombings in northern Vietnam and expand the war into Cambodia and Laos. His meetings with Chinese Premier Chou En-lai led to a Nixon visit to China and the thawing of U.S.-China relations. Over the next few decades, Kissinger continued to promote his vision of balance-of-power diplomacy. He criticized liberal agendas and moralistic attempts to establish global justice.

Kissinger did not believe in retirement. At 91, three months after he had a heart valve replaced, he conducted multiple interviews for his 17th book, World Order. He published a total of 21 books on national security matters. Kissinger recently focused on the implications of artificial intelligence. He celebrated his 100th birthday in May of this year and remained active well into his 100th year, according to Kissinger Associates Inc. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Maginnes Kissinger, two children from a previous marriage, and five grandchildren.