• Henry Kissinger served as the 56th United States Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from 1973 to 1977, and played a pivotal role in crafting American foreign policy during the Vietnam War. Kissinger also helped President Nixon engineer a new U.S. foreign policy of detente in relation to the Communist nations of the Soviet Union and China and helped negotiate an end to the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Egypt and Israel.

• Fast Facts

  1. Born: May 27, 1923
  2. Hometown: Furth, Germany
  3. Wife (1): Ann Fleisher (1949-1964)
  4. Wife (2): Nancy (Maginnes) Kissinger (1974- )
  5. Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University
  6. Served on Council on Foreign Relations in 1950s
  7. Briefly considered a sex symbol in late 60s, early 70s; dubbed "The Kiss"
  8. Famously asked by Richard Nixon to get on knees and pray as Watergate scandal began to bring down Presidency
  9. Most famous quote: "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac"

• Kissinger Foreign Relations

  While Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for helping to draft a cease-fire agreement bringing the Vietnam War to a halt, he has often been criticized for his effect on U.S. foreign policy in relation to Southeast Asia and Latin America. Kissinger's travel outside of the United States is currently hampered due to the desire of several countries to question him in relation to war crimes allegedly committed during his tenure as Secretary of State.

  Born Jewish in Germany in 1923, Kissinger and his family fled the Nazi regime and emigrated to the United States in 1938. He served in the U.S. Army during World War Two and received a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University. Prior to joining the Nixon Administration, Kissinger was an influential architect of United States policy concerning the use of nuclear weapons, and published his study Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy in 1956. Kissinger has been a frequent informal foreign policy advisor to President George W. Bush, and has recently claimed in print that a military victory in Iraq is "impossible."

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  Henry Kissinger Iran Preconditions | Vietnam War | Richard Nixon | Gerald Ford

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Madeleine Albright | James Baker | Richard Nixon | George W. Bush | Iran | Iraq | Vietnam War | Israel | Egypt

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