Holocaust survivor. Harvard professor. Unlikely sex symbol.
Henry Kissinger was many things – but the former Secretary of State, who has died aged 100, will surely be remembered best as an unrivalled colossus of American politics.
As President Richard Nixon’s most trusted foreign policy aide, Kissinger’s impact on global affairs was seismic, spearheading the Western response to Soviet Russia and helping to chart the course through one of the most fraught periods in recent history.
A pioneer of ‘détente’, he oversaw a cooling of relations with Mao’s China and helped mastermind the Paris Peace Accords which precipitated the end of the Vietnam War – winning him the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize.
An formidable résumé, indeed – but Kissinger was no bore.
And while he largely weathered the sordid and protracted Watergate scandal – remaining in office to support Gerard Ford after Nixon’s resignation – his personal life garnered intrigue of its own.
Dubbed the ‘Playboy of the West Wing’ and