Henry Kissinger is shown in his first news conference as secretary of state on October 12, 1973. Getty Images
Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. secretary of state and national security adviser, has died at the age of 100. He was one of the most controversial political figures in American and world history, with enormous influence and participation in some of the most critical events that marked the past century, such as the invasion of Cyprus by the Turks.
Eva Metis Koutoumanou
Henry Kissinger was one of the greatest figures in American diplomacy and a former Secretary of State during the days of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford as presidents.
He fled Nazi Germany in his youth to become one of the most influential and controversial foreign policy figures in American and world history.
Henry Kissinger was a key figure in U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War years. During his time there was rapprochement with both Moscow and Beijing, but his image was tarnished due to his involvement in tragic events, such as the coup d'état of September 11, 1973 in Chile and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974.
German Jew Heinz Alfred Kissinger was born on May 27, 1923 in Bavaria. He acquired U.S. citizenship at the age of 20. He joined the army and served in Europe, mainly in military intelligence, because of his fluent German. He was decorated for his action.
After World War II, he continued his studies and was accepted at Harvard, where he graduated with a degree in international relations and then became a member of the teaching staff and management of the leading American university.
Democratic Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson began to consult more and more frequently with Henry Kissinger, who was now having a brilliant career as a professor at the time.
He quickly emerged as the most influential figure in the Nixon administration. He implemented a policy of détente in relations with the Soviet Union, which eventually led to the strategic arms reduction talks, known as SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks), in 1969.
He sided with Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War and paved the way for rapprochement between America and China in 1972, achieving the first U.S. contact with China since Mao Zedong came to power in 1949.
In 1973 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Le Duque Tho of North Vietnam who rejected it. It was one of the most controversial peace prizes ever awarded, and two members of the Nobel committee resigned at the time over Kissinger's choice and questions were raised about the secret U.S. bombing of Cambodia.
Critics of Henry Kissinger have for years demanded that he be tried for war crimes. They denounced his dark, not infrequently overt role in decisions such as the massive U.S. bombing of Cambodia, or U.S. support for Indonesian dictator Suharto, whose invasion of East Timor killed at least 200,000 people in 1975.
But it was above all the CIA's action in Latin America, often on his personal orders, that tarnished his image more than anything else. Especially the 1973 military coup in Chile, the seizure of power by Augusto Pinochet and the death of socialist president Salvador Allende.
For Greeks, Kissinger will always be a "black page" of History as he is associated with the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974. As US Secretary of State, his responsibilities were great, as he did nothing to prevent the invasion of the Turks, while according to authoritative opinions his role is even darker and his pro-Turkish approach contributed decisively to the tragedy of Cyprus.
With information from ANA, AFP, Reuters, New York Times
