Henry A. Kissinger (1923–) was born as Heinz Alfred Kissinger in Germany. After the Nazis seized power and threatened the status of Jews, his family immigrated to the United States and settled in New York. Kissinger’s name was changed to Henry. During World War II, Kissinger became a naturalized citizen and served in the U.S. Army as a German interpreter. After the war, he attended Harvard University, received a PhD, and joined the faculty as a distinguished professor in government and foreign relations. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he served as a consultant to several government agencies. In 1969, President Richard M. Nixon appointed Kissinger as national security adviser, and in 1973 made him also secretary of state.
Kissinger entered the State Department just two weeks before Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel. This October War of 1973 occupied much of Kissinger’s attention, especially as its aftermath included an oil embargo against the United States by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). After a UN-sponsored ceasefire, Kissinger began a series of “shuttle diplomacy” missions, in which he traveled between various Middle East capitals. His efforts produced a disengagement agreement and contributed to OPEC’s decision to lift the oil embargo. Kissinger also supported Nixon’s policy on the Cold War, known as détente, or a “relaxation of tensions” with the Soviet Union and the establishment of diplomatic relations and trade with the communist People’s Republic of China.
In 1974, the Watergate scandal forced President Nixon to resign, but Kissinger stayed on in his dual roles under President Gerald Ford until 1975, when he continued as secretary of state only. Together Ford and Kissinger maintained Nixon’s approach to Cold War diplomacy, achieving the August 1975 Helsinki Accords, an agreement signed by 35 countries that promised to improve relations between East and West. In September 1975, Kissinger helped conclude a second disengagement agreement between Egypt and Israel that moved both countries closer to a peace agreement.
After he left office Kissinger taught classes on international studies and continues to serve as an adviser to government agencies and Republican presidents.