News - Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dies aged 100

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger died Wednesday at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. The Washington Post, which published the obituary, cited a statement from his consulting firm. The cause of death is not specified. However, based on his age, it is most likely due to natural causes. "As the only person ever to be White House national security adviser and secretary of state at the same time, he exercised a control over U.S. foreign policy that has rarely been equaled by anyone who was not president," the paper writes. Kissinger served as the First National Security Adviser and Secretary of State from January 1969 to January 1977 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He retired at the age of 53 and worked four decades as a consultant on strategic relations with governments around the world. As a theorist of tensions with the Soviet Union, Dr. Kissinger was criticized for his stance. American conservatives blasted Dr. Kissinger’s quest for accommodation with Moscow as a sellout of countries then in the Warsaw Pact, and of American values. After the 1973 Middle East war, Kissinger's famous "shuttle diplomacy" helped stabilize relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Moreover, he was the only one who thoroughly understood the positions of both sides, and told each of them only what was beneficial to its goals and interests.