Henry Kissinger, secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford, dies at 100

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00:00 He was a real titan of diplomacy, one of the most influential figures in American politics

00:05 and of course one of the most influential Secretary of States of all time.

00:09 His biggest achievements, likely the brokering of US relations with China at a time that

00:14 that seemed almost impossible, the detente as it was called at the time with the Soviet

00:19 Union as well as the shuttle diplomacy between Israel and Arab nations after the Yom Kippur

00:26 wars in 1973.

00:28 However, it must be said he also is one of the most deeply divisive politicians in American

00:34 history as well.

00:35 What his fans called his pragmatic approach to diplomacy and to international relations,

00:41 his detractors called him unscrupulous and manipulative, having little regard for human

00:46 rights or even human life at all really.

00:49 Some even say that he was a war criminal, especially for his allowing effectively of

00:55 the bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam war which effectively expanded that conflict

01:01 in Southeast Asia and ultimately led to the Khmer Rouge coming into power in Cambodia.

01:06 We all know how murderous that regime was.

01:09 He spent many of his later years in life almost defending his actions in office but he was

01:15 at the time the only person still to this day ever to be National Security Advisor to

01:21 the White House and also Secretary of State at the same time.

01:25 He became somewhat of a celebrity diplomat, especially in the years after he left office.

01:31 He began dating Hollywood starlets and he was a big fan of the limelight as well, it's

01:36 fair to say.

01:37 He's mainly quoted for saying many times, "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."

01:44 When he was actually Secretary of State, he was so widely loved by the public here in

01:49 the United States that he was actually found to be the most admired man in the country

01:54 according to one Gallup poll.

01:56 Of course, after he left office, he still continued to have an incredible grip on international

02:01 relations in America.

02:03 He had the ear of many presidents after he left office including Barack Obama and also

02:08 George W. Bush who has just paid tribute to the man saying, "The US has lost one of the

02:15 most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs.

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