Henry Kissinger, one of the most influential and controversial diplomats of the post-World War II era, has died at the age of 100. He served under the US presidencies of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a man many believe should have been held to account for war crimes, whilst others regard him as one of the most effective secretaries of state in US history. Report by Chinnianl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00 The last surviving member of President Richard Nixon's cabinet, Henry Kissinger shaped US
00:05 foreign policy under the presidencies of both Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1970s.
00:12 Born Heinz Alfred Kissinger in Bavaria in 1923, Henry, as he would come to be known,
00:18 was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany in 1938.
00:22 Aged 20, he became a naturalised US citizen and fought for his adopted country during
00:27 the Second World War.
00:29 After receiving his political science PhD from Harvard in 1957, Dr Kissinger worked
00:34 as a consultant to government agencies and think tanks.
00:38 He then became foreign policy advisor to the presidential campaigns of Nelson Rockefeller,
00:43 supporting his bids to the Republican nomination throughout the 1960s.
00:47 Although initially not a fan of Richard Nixon, Kissinger changed his mind when Nixon won
00:52 the Republican nomination in 1968, and he developed a close relationship with the new
00:57 president as his national security advisor and secretary of state.
01:01 There was an air of secrecy to the way they conducted business.
01:05 In 1969, Kissinger hid from Congress the bombings of Cambodia and Laos, which escalated the
01:10 Vietnam War.
01:12 However, it was secret meetings with North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho which led to the Paris
01:16 Peace Accords and saw US forces withdraw from Vietnam.
01:21 Both men were subsequently awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize.
01:25 A proponent of realpolitik, Kissinger's major diplomatic achievements included soothing
01:30 tensions with the Soviet Union through the policy of détente, opening up relations between
01:36 the US and China for the first time in 23 years, and acting as an intermediary to end
01:41 the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East.
01:44 More controversially, the US helped General Pinochet overthrow the democratically elected
01:49 Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973, and three years later backed the takeover of neighbouring
01:55 Argentina by a military junta.
01:58 Kissinger continued to work with presidents after his time in the White House.
02:02 Ronald Reagan appointed him to head a commission on Central America in 1983, as civil wars
02:08 and revolutions engulfed the region.
02:11 Kissinger kept active into the 21st century and beyond his 100th birthday.
02:15 He campaigned with fellow politicians William Perry, Sam Nunn and George Shultz for a world
02:20 without nuclear weapons.
02:22 At the start of the 2020s he wrote books on the rise of AI and political leadership.
02:28 One of the most divisive politicians of the post-war era, Dr Henry Kissinger was a man
02:33 many believe should have been held to account for war crimes.
02:37 Others regard him as one of the most effective secretaries of state in US history.
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