Henry Kissinger

Henry Alfred Kissinger (born May 27, 1923 as Heinz Alfred Kissinger) is a German-born American diplomat and statesman. He served as National Security Advisor and later Secretary of State in the Nixon administration, continuing in the latter position after Gerald Ford became President in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.

Political history

Kissinger was Nixon's national security advisor (1969-73) and later his secretary of state (1973-74). He also stayed on as President Gerald Ford's Secretary of State from 1974-77.

Related Topics:
National security advisor - 1969 - 73 - Secretary of state - 74 - Gerald Ford - 77

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While working for Nixon, Kissinger established the policy of détente with the Soviet Union. He also negotiated the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (culminating in the SALT I treaty) and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. In July and October 1971, Kissinger made two secret trips to the People's Republic of China to confer with Premier Zhou Enlai and to set the stage for the groundbreaking 1972 summit between the PRC and the US as well as the normalization of relations between the two countries. Today, Kissinger is often called by Chinese leaders "the old friend of the Chinese people." His talk with Zhou Enlai was highly secretive. Recently declassified documents show that the talk highly focused on the Taiwan issue.

Related Topics:
Détente - Soviet Union - Strategic Arms Limitation Talks - SALT I treaty - Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty - 1971 - People's Republic of China - Zhou Enlai - 1972 - Normalization of relations - Taiwan issue

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kissinger was awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize along with Le Duc Tho of Vietnam for their work on the Vietnam peace accords. Kissinger and Nixon had come to office in 1968 on a promise of a quick end to the Vietnam War, but the intervening years saw an escalation in conflict as well as the extension of the US bombing campaign (overseen by Kissinger) in Laos and Cambodia. Le Duc Tho refused the prize on the grounds that there was as yet no peace.

Related Topics:
1973 - Le Duc Tho - Vietnam - 1968 - Vietnam War - Laos - Cambodia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1973, Kissinger negotiated the end of the Yom Kippur War, which began with Egypt's invasion of the Sinai and Syria's invasion of the Golan Heights.

Related Topics:
Yom Kippur War - Egypt - Sinai - Golan Heights

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kissinger may have played a role in the September 11, 1973, coup by Augusto Pinochet against the government of Chilean President Salvador Allende. Documentary evidence shows CIA interest in promoting a coup, but Kissinger says he reversed his initial position supporting a coup well before it happened.

Related Topics:
September 11 - 1973 - Augusto Pinochet - Salvador Allende - CIA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite occasional allegations of underhanded dealings in foreign countries, Kissinger was largely popular with the public and became one of the better-liked members of the increasingly unpopular Nixon administration. Kissinger had little involvement with the Watergate scandal that would eventually ruin Nixon and many of his closest aides – a fact which greatly increased Kissinger's reputation as the "clean man" of the bunch. At the height of his popularity he was even regarded as something of a sex symbol and was seen dating starlets such as Jill St. John, Shirley MacLaine, and Candice Bergen. There was even discussion of ending the requirement that a U.S. President be born in America so that Kissinger could run for president.

Related Topics:
Watergate scandal - Sex symbol - Jill St. John - Shirley MacLaine - Candice Bergen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency in 1974, his successor, Gerald Ford agreed to keep Kissinger as Secretary of State.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In December 1975, Kissinger and Ford met with President Suharto of Indonesia; on that occasion they are alleged to have given their approval for his invasion of East Timor, which led to the death of 200,000 Timorese. Until the release of documents confirming his foreknowledge of the invasion, Kissinger claimed that he was unaware of Suharto's intentions when he left Jakarta. Kissinger still maintains that the nature and influence of his "approval" of the invasion are presented radically out of context. He argues that the invasion was already a foregone conclusion planned well in advance, and was not simply something that he convinced Suharto to do on the spot. However, Kissinger's apparent strong dislike of discussing the issue remains a source of controversy (see below).

Related Topics:
Suharto - Indonesia - East Timor - Jakarta

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Kissinger's final months in office he successfully helped secure American support for the regime of Juan Carlos in Spain. The Spanish King and Kissinger had befriended each other during an earlier visit that the then-Prince had made to the United States. Kissinger helped negotiate the withdrawl of Spanish troops from Western Sahara, and in doing so sought to prevent an invasion from Morrocco.

Related Topics:
Juan Carlos - Western Sahara - Morrocco

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~