Henry Kissinger, the diplomat who influenced U.S. foreign policy for decades, and served under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, has died at his home in Kent Connecticut at age 100. His death was announced by his consulting firm Kissinger Associates.
Heinz Alfred Kissinger was born in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany to Louis Kissinger and the former Paula Stern, the family being German-Jewish. As a child, he enjoyed playing soccer. In 1938, when he was 15, his family left then-Nazi Germany and later arrived in New York City. He graduated from George Washington High School and started to attend the City College of New York, but his education was interrupted when he was drafted into the Army in 1943. That same year, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. During World War II, he served in both combat and military intelligence, the latter assignment being given due to his fluency in German. After the war, Kissinger attended Harvard University, where he earned his BA, MA and PhD, and stayed on its faculty until 1971.
Kissinger was a foreign policy advisor to Republican presidential candidate Nelson Rockefeller and later offered his services to to candidate Richard Nixon. While serving under Presidents Nixon and Ford as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, he was a proponent of Realpolitik. After Ford was defeated in 1976 by Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter, Kissinger found work outside the federal government, including a five-year stint as Chancellor of the College of William & Mary.
Kissinger married Anneliese Fleischer in 1949. They had two children, Elizabeth and David, before divorcing in 1964. He married Nancy Maginnes in 1974. He also became influential in the growth of soccer in the United States. He is survived by his wife Nancy, his two children, and his five grandchildren.
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