Henry Kissinger

Henry Alfred Kissinger (1923–2023) was an American diplomat, political scientist, and statesman who served as National Security Advisor (1969–1975) and Secretary of State (1973–1977) under Presidents Nixon and Ford. Born in Germany, he fled Nazi persecution in 1938, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and later became a Harvard professor and expert on foreign policy, advocating Realpolitik. He pioneered détente with the Soviet Union, opened relations with China, and negotiated the Paris Peace Accords ending U.S. involvement in Vietnam, earning the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize amid controversies over actions like the bombing of Cambodia.