Henry Kissinger, American diplomat and Nobel winner, dies aged 100

Henry Kissinger, American diplomat and Nobel winner, is dead at 100.

Henry A. Kissinger was a diplomatic powerhouse who helped create the post-World War II world order.

He served as a national security adviser and secretary of state under two presidents left an indelible mark on U.S. foreign policy, and earned him a controversial Nobel Peace Prize.

According to a statement from his geopolitical consulting firm, Kissinger Associates Inc., he died at his home in Connecticut on Wednesday.

“Dr. Henry Kissinger, a respected American scholar and statesman, died today at his home in Connecticut,” Kissinger Associates announced.

Kissinger would be interred at a private family service, to be followed at a later date by a public memorial service in New York City, the statement added. 

However, the statement did not provide a cause of death.

In the midst of the Cold War, during the 70’s he had a hand in many of the epoch-changing global events of the decade while serving as national security adviser and secretary of state under Republican President Richard Nixon.

However, the German-born Jewish refugee’s reign as the prime architect of U.S. foreign policy waned with Nixon’s resignation in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal.

But surprisingly, Kissinger served under his successor, Gerald Ford.

In an unprecedented arrangement, Kissinger served both as secretary of state and national security advisor.

Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiations to end the Vietnam War, even though the conflict did not immediately end and his North Vietnamese counterpart, Le Duc Tho, declined to accept the prize.

Kissinger remains deeply controversial for his ruthless philosophy of realpolitik — the cold calculation that nations pursue their own interests through power.

Following his death news, the world remembers Kissinger’s key accomplishments along with tributes and criticism.