Person biography:
Henry Alfred Kissinger was born in his hometown, where he attended school. As the persecution of the Jewish population in Germany intensified in 1933, he emigrated to the USA with his parents in 1938. He attended high school in New York City and later worked in a factory to support his family, which led him to switch to night school.
Kissinger received US citizenship in 1943 and served in the Army until 1946, deployed in Germany. After the war, he worked as a lecturer at the European Command Intelligence School in Oberammergau and later enrolled at Harvard University, where he completed his master's degree in 1952 and doctorate in 1954.
He headed the Harvard International Seminar from 1952 to 1969, meeting many foreign authorities who would later be important in his foreign policy career. Kissinger was appointed lecturer at Harvard in 1957 and professor in 1962, holding a full teaching position until 1965.
He began his political career as an advisor to the National Security Council under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson until 1962, and as an advisor on disarmament issues until 1967. Kissinger was appointed advisor to the State Department in 1965, where he worked on the Vietnam situation, visiting the country several times.
In 1969, President Nixon elevated Kissinger to head the National Security Council, where he opposed the policy of reconciliation and rapprochement towards the Soviet Union. He played a key role in the SALT negotiations, the agreement on West Berlin's four-power status, and the secret diplomatic preparations leading to a rapprochement between the USA and China.
As Secretary of State under Nixon, Kissinger promoted a policy of military strength in Vietnam, which brought criticism. He reached a ceasefire with Le Duc Tho in 1973 and withdrew American troops from Vietnam. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and promoted to Secretary of State.
After leaving office, Kissinger founded the consulting firm "Kissinger Associates, Inc." and produced analyses for governments and commercial companies worldwide. He was awarded several honors, including the International Charlemagne Prize in 1987 and the Bavarian Order of Merit in 2005.
Kissinger continued to speak out through numerous publications, including his treatise "Does America Need a Foreign Policy?" in 2001. He received the Baden-Württemberg Medal of Merit in 2007 and passed away on November 29, 2023, in Kent.
