He was the greatest figure in American diplomacy. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who died on Wednesday at the age of 100, left an indelible mark on US foreign policy in the second half of the 20th century.
Here are five feats of arms of this outstanding but also maligned diplomat who served as national security advisor and secretary of state under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from 1969 to 1977.
Thaw with China
Henry Kissinger secretly traveled to Beijing in July 1971 to establish ties with Communist China, paving the way for President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing in 1972. This extended hand to China ended the isolation of the Asian giant and contributed to the rise of Beijing, initially economically, on the world stage.
Henry Kissinger with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow in 1973
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Vietnam and Nobel
Henry Kissinger led, in the greatest secrecy and in parallel with the bombing of Hanoi, negotiations with Le Duc Tho to end the Vietnam War. The signing of a ceasefire earned him the Nobel Peace Prize with the North Vietnamese in 1973, which the latter refused, arguing that the negotiated truce was not respected. Henry Kissinger does not dare to go to Oslo, for fear of demonstrations, and is replaced there by the American ambassador.
Support for dictatorships
Kissinger’s detractors point to his support for coups in Latin America, in the name of the fight against communism, and particularly in Chile where the United States helped bring dictator Augusto Pinochet to power after the suicide of Salvador Allende , in 1973.
The invasions
The defense of the general interest of the United States also led him to support, more or less tacitly, several invasions at the time. Thus his support for Indonesian President Suharto whose invasion of East Timor led to 200,000 deaths in 1975.
This is also the case for Turkey, which seized a third of the territory of Cyprus in 1974 and carried out destabilization operations during the civil war in Angola.
The Middle East
Henry Kissinger devoted much of his time to the Middle East, notably organizing a massive airlift, Operation Nickel Grass, to supply ally Israel with weapons after the surprise attack on Arab countries during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur in 1973.
He then inaugurated “shuttle diplomacy” negotiating with Israel, Syria and Egypt, which would become a key ally outside Moscow’s sphere of influence.