Henry A. Kissinger

Former U.S. Secretary of State

Henry Alfred Kissinger was born in Fuerth, Germany. He came to the United States in 1938, and was naturalized as a United States citizen in 1943. He served in the Army from 1943 to 1946.

He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950, and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1954.

From 1954 until 1969, he was a member of the faculty of Harvard University, in both the Department of Government and the Center for International Affairs. He was Director of the Harvard International Seminar from 1952 to 1969.

Dr. Kissinger was sworn in on September 22, 1973, as the 56th Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977. He also served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from January 20, 1969, until November 3, 1975.

In July 1983, he was appointed by President Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America until it ceased operation in January 1985, and from 1984-1990 he served as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian award) in 1977 and the Medal of Liberty (given one time to ten foreign-born American leaders) in 1986.

His latest books include “The Age of AI: And Our Human Future” (co-authored with Eric Schmidt and Daniel Huttenlocher) and “Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy.”

Dr. Kissinger passed away on November 29, 2023 aged 100.