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Politics

Henry Kissinger: A Life in Pictures

Statesman Henry Kissinger shaped American foreign policy for decades

Jamie Joseph By Jamie Joseph Fox News
Published
  • Henry Kissinger is shown with his brother Walter as children.
    Image 1 of 33

    Henry, 11, is shown with his brother Walter, 10. According to his aunt and uncle in an interview at their home, Dr. Henry Kissinger showed no signs of greatness when he was a child in pre-war Germany. He was just a nice Jewish boy.  (Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)

  • Richard Nixon watches as Henry Kissinger is sworn-in
    Image 2 of 33

    As US President Richard Nixon watches, Henry Kissinger is sworn-in, by Chief Justice of the US Warren E Burger (1907 - 1995), as the 56th US Secretary of State, in the White House's East Room, Washington DC, September 22, 1973. Also present is Kissinger's mother, Paula Kissinger.  (As US President Richard Nixon watches, Henry Kissinger  is sworn-in)

  • Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger are photographed.
    Image 3 of 33

    President Richard Nixon is pictured with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger at the Waldorf-Astoria.   (Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

  • SIXTY MINUTES episode with Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon
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    Kissinger is pictured with President Richard Nixon on August 25, 1970.  (CBS via Getty Images)

  • Henry Kissinger dines with Zhou Enlai
    Image 5 of 33

    U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger accepts food from Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during a state banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.  (Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)

  • Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Gerald Ford talk in the White House
    Image 6 of 33

    Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Gerald Ford talk in the White House residence in 1974 in Washington, DC. (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)

  • President Richard Nixon and Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev watch as US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger signs the treaty
    Image 7 of 33

    President Richard Nixon and Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev watch as US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger signs the SALT treaty on May 26, 1972 in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Brezhnev and Nixon signed the treaty, freezing certain U.S. and Soviet weapons systems.  (Dirck Halstead/Liaison)

  • Henry Kissinger shakes hand with Le Duc Tho
    Image 8 of 33

    US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger shakes hands with Le Duc Tho, leader of North-Vietnamese delegation, after the signing of a ceasefire agreement in Vietnam war, January 23, 1973, in Paris. (AFP via Getty Images)

  • Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger walk outside of the White House
    Image 9 of 33

    President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, conversing on the grounds of the White House, Washington DC, August 16, 1975.  (Thomas O'Halloran/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)

  • President Gerald R. Ford listens to Secretary Of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office
    Image 10 of 33

    President Gerald R. Ford listens to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at his desk in the Oval Office as they discuss the S.S. Mayaguez indicent in May 1975 in the West Wing of the White House, Washington, D.C. The S.S. Mayaguez, with a crew of 38 servicemen, was seized off Cambodia by the newly empowered Khmer Rouge.  (David Hume Kennerly/ Getty Images)

  • Henry and Nancy Kissinger smile for a photo.
    Image 11 of 33

    Henry and his wife, Nancy Kissinger, circa 1980 in New York.  (PL Gould/Images/Getty Images)

  • Henry Kissinger and wife Nancy Kissinger
    Image 12 of 33

    Henry Kissinger and wife Nancy Kissinger, circa 1988 in New York City.  (Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images)

  • Henry Kissinger and David Kissinger at graduation
    Image 13 of 33

    Father and son, Henry Kissinger and David Kissinger, are seen at Concord Academy, Massachusetts, 1st June 1979.  (Mikki Ansin/Getty Images)

  • Dr. Henry Kissinger receiving his Nobel Peace Prize
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    Dr. Henry Kissinger received his Nobel Peace Prize from Thomas Byrne, US Ambassador to Norway, at Claridge's Hotel, London. Mr Byrne accepted the prize on Dr. Kissinger's behalf when the Secretary of State was unable to attend the Oslo ceremony. Dr. Kissinger shared the 1973 Noble Peace Prize with Le Duc Tho, North Vietnam's negotiator at the Vietnam peace talks.  (PA Images via Getty Images)

  • Henry Kissinger checks his glasses
    Image 15 of 33

    US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger appears before the Senate Appropriations Committee in Washington, DC, to urge approval of President Gerald Ford's request for military and humanitarian aid to South Vietnam.  (Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)

  • Geishas entertain Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
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    Geishas entertain Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1974 in Kyota, Japan.  (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)

  • Henry Kissinger and James Schlesinger sit beside each other
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    Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger sit alike as they listen to President Ford deliver his State of the World address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol.  (Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)

  • Henry Kissinger visits the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
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    Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger visits the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Dec. 9, 1981.   ( Ted Dully/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

  • Richard Nixon meets with Henry Kissinger
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    US President Richard Nixon meets with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger on the Colonnade outside the White House's Oval Office, Washington, DC, on September 16, 1972.  (White House via CNP/Getty Images)

  • Henry Kissinger with Mao Tse-Tung
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    Secretary of State Henry Kissinger with Mao Tse-Tung, Chairman of Chinese Communist Party, during a visit to the chairman's residence.  (Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

  • Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, and Walter Mondale as they meet for a foreign policy briefing
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    US President-elect Jimmy Carter, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Vice President-elect Walter Mondale as they meet for a foreign policy briefing in Plains, Georgia, on November 11, 1976.   (Consolidated News Photos/Getty Images)

  • President Ronald Reagan and former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger whisper
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    President Ronald Reagan and former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger whisper during a meeting in 1983 in Washington, DC. Secretary of State George Schultz (L, rear) and Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger (R) also attend.  (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)

  • George W. Bush waves to journalists as he stands next to Henry Kissinger
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    Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush waves to journalists as he stands next to Henry Kissinger at a porch in the Governor's mansion in Autstin, Texas, on July 12, 2000. Bush met with Kissinger at the mansion for about an hour before holding a short press conference.    (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

  • Barack Obama smiles alongside Henry Kissinger
    Image 24 of 33

    U.S. President Barack Obama smiles while meeting with current and former diplomatic and national security officials including James Baker, former U.S. Secretary of State, left, and Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 13, 2015.  (Andrew Harrer/Getty Images)

  • Donald Trump speaks with Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office.
    Image 25 of 33

    President Donald Trump sits with Dr. Henry Kissinger while speaking to gathered press in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 10, 2017. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

  • Joe Biden and Henry Kissinger shake hands
    Image 26 of 33

    US Vice President Joe Biden and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the 2016 World Jewish Congress Herzl Award Dinner at The Pierre Hotel on November 9, 2016, in New York City.    (Shahar Azran/WireImage)

  • Henry Kissinger laughs with Chinese President Jiang Zemin
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    Former US Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger laughs as Chinese President Jiang Zemin reacts to interpreter Xu Hui's (C) translation of Kissinger's comments during a speaking engagement at the Asian Society in Washington, DC. (TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images)

  • Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger talk during the Sinai II negotiations
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    Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger talk during the Sinai II negotiations, which resulted in land being returned to Egypt in 1975 in Alexandria, Egypt.   (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)

  • Mikhail Gorbatchev and Henry Kissinger
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    Mikhail Gorbachev and Henry Kissinger in Moscow, 1992.   (Vlastimir Nesic SHONE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

  • Princess Diana of Wales sits alongside Henry Kissinger
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    Princess Diana of Wales receives an award alongside Henry Kissinger in New York in December 1995. (Pool Photograph/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

  • Golda Meir alongside Henry Kissinger
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    Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and Henry Kissinger in 1974.  (William KAREL/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

  • Margaret Thatcher sits With Henry Kissinger
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    British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with Henry Kissinger. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

  • Henry Kissinger waits to attend a photo call
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    Henry Kissinger at the Nanjing University on June 23, 2007, in Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, China. (China Photos/Getty Images)

Henry Kissinger, an esteemed German-born diplomat and statesman known for his transformative role in shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War era, died at 100 on Wednesday. 

HENRY KISSINGER WARNS AGAINST ESCALATING RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT, URGES PEACE TALKS

A statement released by Kissinger Associates said Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut.

Kissinger, born in Germany in 1923, became a towering figure in American politics and diplomacy and was praised by supporters as a brilliant strategist and condemned by critics as a master political manipulator.

He fled Nazi persecution with his family and settled in the United States in 1938. Educated at Harvard University, he went on to become an academic and a significant authority on international relations.

He served as national security advisor and secretary of state under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, playing a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War era. His policy of détente aimed to ease tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union and engage China, altering the dynamics of international relations.

KISSINGER SAYS IT WAS 'GRAVE MISTAKE' FOR GERMANY TO TAKE IN SO MANY MIGRANTS AMID PRO-HAMAS PROTESTS

Kissinger played a crucial role in the Vietnam War, actively engaging in negotiations with North Vietnam and overseeing the Paris Peace Accords that facilitated the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam. His strategies and choices during this period sparked controversy, drawing criticism for prolonged conflict and civilian casualties.

In 1973, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho for their efforts in negotiating the Vietnam ceasefire. However, Tho declined the prize, citing the absence of real peace.

Kissinger maintained his global influence well after leaving public life, evidenced most recently by his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in July. The Chinese leader greeted the former American diplomat who had celebrated his 100th birthday less than two months prior with deep respect.

FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE HENRY KISSINGER DEAD AT 100

"The Chinese people never forget their old friends, and Sino-U.S. relations will always be linked with the name of Henry Kissinger," Xi said at the time.

Kissinger played a leading role in the normalization of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and China under Presidents Nixon and Ford.

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By 1980, he told Time magazine, "The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself."

Kissinger is survived by his wife, Nancy, whom he married in 1974, and two children, David and Elizabeth, from his first marriage.

Fox News' Adam Sabes contributed to this report. 

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate. 

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