World leaders mourned the death of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who died at his home in Kent, Connecticut, Wednesday, at the age of 100.
He is survived by his wife Nancy Maginnes Kissinger, and two children, David and Elizabeth.
Former U.S. President George W Bush led tributes, saying, America has lost one of the most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs with the passing of Henry Kissinger.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Kissinger’s “understanding of the complexities of international relations and his unique insights into the challenges facing our world were unparalleled.”
European Council President Charles Michel called Kissinger a “A kind human and a brilliant mind who, over 100 years, shaped the (destinies) of some of the most important events of the century.”
“The world has lost a great diplomat,” according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described him as a “wise and farsighted statesman”.
Kissinger was a beloved figure in China and his death was widely mourned among both government figures and on the country’s social media.
Kissinger was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938 to the United States.
Kissinger played a prominent role in U.S. foreign policy between 1969 and 1977, trying to improve relations with the Soviet Union, orchestrating an opening of relations with China, engaging in what became known as shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East to end the Yom Kippur War, and negotiating the Paris Peace Accords, which ended American involvement in the Vietnam War.
He has been widely considered to have played a pivotal role in U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War, and in laying the foundation for the end of it.
After leaving government, he formed Kissinger Associates, an international geopolitical consulting firm. Kissinger wrote more than a dozen books on diplomatic history and international relations.
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