Henry Kissinger Biography

Political Scientist, Diplomat (1923–)

UPDATED:JUN 29, 2020ORIGINAL:APR 2, 2014

Diplomat Henry Kissinger was U.S. secretary of state under Richard Nixon, winning the 1973 Nobel
Peace Prize for the Vietnam War accords.

Who Is Henry Kissinger?

Henry Kissinger became a Harvard professor before assuming leadership in U.S. foreign policy. He was
appointed secretary of state in 1973 by President Richard Nixon and co-won the Nobel Peace Prize for
his work in the Vietnam War's Paris accords. He was later critiqued for some of his covert actions at
home and abroad. Kissinger is also a prolific author.

Early Life

Henry Kissinger was born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923, in Fürth, a city in the Bavaria region of
Germany. Kissinger's mother, Paula Stern, came from a relatively wealthy and prominent family, and his
father, Louis Kissinger, was a teacher. Kissinger grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household, and during
his youth he spent two hours each day diligently studying the Bible and the Talmud. The interwar
Germany of Kissinger's youth was still reeling from its defeat in World War I and the humiliating and
debilitating terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Such national emasculation gave rise to the intense
German nationalism of Nazism, in which many Germans increasingly treated Germany's Jewish
population as outsiders and scapegoats for their misfortunes.

As a child, Kissinger encountered anti-Semitism daily. An avid soccer fan, he defied laws banning Jews
from professional sporting events to attend matches, receiving several beatings at the hands of the
stadium guards. He and his friends were also regularly abused by local gangs of Nazi youth. These
experiences understandably made a lasting impression on Kissinger. One of his childhood friends said,
"You can't grow up like we did and be untouched. Every day there were slurs in the streets, anti-Semitic
remarks, calling you filthy names."

Kissinger was a shy, introverted and bookish child. "He withdrew," his mother remembered. "Sometimes
he wasn't outgoing enough, because he was lost in his books." Kissinger excelled at the local Jewish
school and dreamed of attending the Gymnasium, a prestigious state-run high school. However, by the
time he was old enough to apply, the school had stopped accepting Jews. Sensing the impending
tragedy of the Holocaust, his family decided to flee Germany for the United States in 1938, when
Kissinger was 15 years old.

Education

On August 20, 1938, Kissinger's family set sail for New York City by way of London. His family was
extremely poor upon arrival in the United States, and Kissinger immediately went to work in a shaving
brush factory to supplement his family's income. At the same time, Kissinger enrolled at New York's
George Washington High School, where he learned English with remarkable speed and excelled in all of
his classes. One of his teachers later recalled of Kissinger, "He was the most serious and mature of the
German refugee students, and I think those students were more serious than our own." Kissinger
graduated from high school in 1940 and continued on to the City College of New York, where he studied
to become an accountant.

Harvard University

In 1943, Kissinger became a naturalized American citizen and, soon after, he was drafted into the army
to fight in World War II. Thus, just five years after he left, Kissinger found himself back in his homeland
of Germany, fighting the very Nazi regime from which he had once fled. He served first as a rifleman in
France and then as a G-2 intelligence officer in Germany. Over the course of the war, Kissinger
abandoned his plan to become an accountant and instead decided that he wanted to become an
academic with a focus on political history.

In 1947, upon his return to the United States, he was admitted to Harvard University to complete his
undergraduate coursework. Kissinger's senior thesis, completed in 1950, was a 383-page tome that
tackled a vast subject matter: the meaning of history. It became Harvard lore that his daunting
manuscript which, unrefined but brilliant, prompted the university to impose a rule limiting the length of
future theses; however, according to Walter Issacson’s 1992 biography, this “Kissinger Rule” is most
likely a myth.

Upon graduating summa cum laude in 1950, Kissinger decided to remain at Harvard to pursue a Ph.D. in
the Department of Government. His 1954 dissertation, A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh, and
the Problems of Peace, 1812-1822, examined the efforts of Austrian diplomat Klemens von Metternich
to reestablish a legitimate international order in Europe in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.
Metternich proved a profound influence on Kissinger's own later conduct of foreign policy, most notably
in his firm belief that even a deeply flawed world order was preferable to revolution and chaos.

After receiving his doctorate in 1954, Kissinger accepted an offer to stay at Harvard as a member of the
faculty in the Department of Government. Kissinger first achieved widespread fame in academic circles
with his 1957 book Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy, opposing President Dwight Eisenhower's policy
of holding out the threat of massive retaliation to ward off Soviet aggression. Instead, Kissinger
proposed a "flexible" response model, arguing that a limited war fought with conventional forces and
tactical nuclear weapons was, in fact, winnable. He served as a member of the Harvard faculty from
1954-69, earning tenure in 1959.

Washington Career
Kissinger always kept one eye outside academia on policymaking in Washington, D.C. From 1961-68, in
addition to teaching at Harvard, he served as a special advisor to Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon
Johnson on matters of foreign policy. Then in 1969, Kissinger finally left Harvard when incoming
President Richard Nixon appointed him as national security advisor. Serving in that role from 1969-75,
and then as secretary of state from 1973-77, Kissinger would prove one of the most dominant,
influential and controversial statesmen in American history.

Vietnam War

The great foreign policy trial of Kissinger's career was the Vietnam War. By the time he became national
security advisor in 1969, the Vietnam War had become enormously costly, deadly and unpopular.
Seeking to achieve "peace with honor," Kissinger combined diplomatic initiatives and troop withdrawals
with devastating bombing campaigns on North Vietnam, designed to improve the American bargaining
position and maintain the country's credibility with its international allies and enemies.

Winning the Nobel Peace Prize

On January 27, 1973, Kissinger and his North Vietnamese negotiating partner, Le Duc Tho, finally signed
a ceasefire agreement to end direct American involvement in the conflict. Both men were honored with
the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize, although Duc declined, leaving Kissinger the sole recipient of the award.
Nevertheless, Kissinger's handling of the Vietnam War was highly controversial. His "peace with honor"
strategy prolonged the war for four years, from 1969-73, during which 22,000 American troops and
countless Vietnamese died. Furthermore, he initiated a secret bombing campaign in Cambodia that
ravaged the country and helped the genocidal Khmer Rouge take power there.

Chinese-American Relations, Yom Kippur War

In addition to ending the Vietnam War, Kissinger also accomplished a host of other foreign policy
achievements. In 1971, he made two secret trips to the People's Republic of China, paving the way for
President Nixon's historic visit in 1972 and the normalization of Chinese-American relations in 1979.
Kissinger was also instrumental in bringing about the early 1970s détente between the United States
and the Soviet Union. In 1972, he negotiated the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) and the Anti-
Ballistic Missile Treaty, helping to ease tensions between the two Cold War superpowers. When détente
was threatened by the October 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel, an American ally, and Egypt, a
Soviet ally, Kissinger proved crucial in leading diplomatic efforts to prevent the war from escalating into
a global confrontation.

Advising Presidents Reagan and Bush

Kissinger stepped down as secretary of state at the conclusion of the Gerald Ford administration in
1977, but he continued to play a major role in American foreign policy. In 1983, President Ronald
Reagan appointed him to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America, and from 1984-
90, under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, he served on the President's Foreign Intelligence
Advisory Board.

Kissinger founded the international consulting firm Kissinger Associates in 1982, and he serves as a
board member and trustee to numerous companies and foundations. Additionally, he has authored
several books and countless articles on American foreign policy and diplomatic history.

Foreign Policy Legacy

Henry Kissinger stands out as the dominant American statesman and foreign policymaker of the late
20th century. With his intellectual prowess and tough, skillful negotiating style, Kissinger ended the
Vietnam War and greatly improved American relations with its two primary Cold War enemies, China
and the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Kissinger's ruthlessly pragmatic, sometimes Machiavellian tactics
have earned him as many critics as admirers. The writer Christopher Hitchens, for example, has
castigated Kissinger for bombing Cambodia, endorsing the Indonesian occupation of East Timor and
orchestrating the overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende.
Regardless of whether they praise or despise him, commentators agree that the current international
order is the product of Kissinger's policies. As Kissinger himself put it, "Only rarely in history do
statesmen find an environment in which all factors are so malleable; before us, I thought, was the
chance to shape events, to build a new world, harnessing the energy and dreams of the American
people and mankind's hopes."

ሄንሪ ኪሲንገር የሕይወት ታሪክ

የፖለቲካ ሳይንቲስት ፣ ዲፕሎማት (1923 -)

ተዘምኗል-እ.ኤ.አ. ሰኔ 29 ቀን 2020 (እ.ኤ.አ.) APR 2, 2014

ዲፕሎማት ሄንሪ ኪሲንገር እ.ኤ.አ. በ 1973 በቬትናም ጦርነት ስምምነቶች የኖቤል የሰላም ሽልማት አሸናፊ በመሆን

በሪቻርድ ኒክሰን የአሜሪካ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር ነበሩ ፡፡

ሄንሪ ኪሲንገር ማን ነው?

በአሜሪካ የውጭ ፖሊሲ ውስጥ መሪነትን ከመያዙ በፊት ሄንሪ ኪሲንገር የሃርቫርድ ፕሮፌሰር ሆነዋል ፡፡ በፕሬዚዳንት

ሪቻርድ ኒክሰን በ 1973 የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር ሆነው የተሾሙ ሲሆን በቬትናም ጦርነት የፓሪስ ስምምነት ውስጥ

የሠሩትን የኖቤል የሰላም ሽልማት በጋራ አሸንፈዋል ፡፡ በኋላም በሀገር ውስጥ እና በውጭ ባሉ አንዳንድ ድብቅ ድርጊቶች

ተችቷል ፡፡ ኪሲንገር እንዲሁ የበዛ ደራሲ ነው ፡፡

የመጀመሪያ ሕይወት

ሄንሪ ኪሲንገር የተወለደው በጀርመን ባቫርያ ክልል በምትገኘው ፉርዝ ከተማ ግንቦት 27 ቀን 1923 ሄንዝ አልፍሬድ

ኪሲንገር ነበር ፡፡ የኪሲንገር እናት ፓውላ ስተርን በአንጻራዊ ሁኔታ ሀብታም እና ታዋቂ ከሆኑ ቤተሰቦች የተገኘ ሲሆን

አባቱ ሉዊስ ኪሲንገር አስተማሪ ነበር ፡፡ ኪሲንገር ያደገው በኦርቶዶክስ አይሁድ ቤተሰብ ውስጥ ሲሆን በወጣትነቱ በየቀኑ

መጽሐፍ ቅዱስን እና ታልሙድን በትጋት በማጥናት በየቀኑ ሁለት ሰዓታት ያሳልፍ ነበር ፡፡ በመካከለኛው የክርሲንገር

ወጣት ጀርመን በአንደኛው የዓለም ጦርነት ሽንፈቷን እና የ 1919 የቬርሳይ ስምምነት አዋራጅ እና ተስፋ አስቆራጭ

ውሎች አሁንም ድረስ ተቆጥተው ነበር ፡፡ እንዲህ ዓይነቱ ብሄራዊ ስሌት ብዙ ጀርመኖች የጀርመንን የአይሁድ ህዝብ
እንደ መጤ እና እንደ ተላላኪዎች በመጥፎ ሁኔታቸው እየጨመሩ የመጡበትን የናዚዝም ከፍተኛ የጀርመን ብሄረተኝነት

አስከተለ ፡፡

በልጅነቱ ኪሲንገር በየቀኑ ፀረ-ሴማዊነት አጋጥሞታል ፡፡ በጣም አፍቃሪ የሆነ የእግር ኳስ አፍቃሪ ፣ አይሁዶች

በስታዲየሙ ዘበኞች እጅ ብዙ ድብደባዎችን በመያዝ ውድድሮችን እንዳይሳተፉ ከሙያዊ የስፖርት ዝግጅቶች

የሚከለከሉባቸውን ህጎች ተቃውሟል ፡፡ እሱ እና ጓደኞቹ በተጨማሪም በአካባቢው የናዚ ወጣቶች የወንበዴዎች ቡድን

በመደበኛነት በደል ደርሶባቸዋል ፡፡ እነዚህ ልምዶች በኪሲንገር ላይ ዘላቂ ስሜት እንዳሳደረባቸው ለመረዳት ተችሏል ፡፡

ከልጅነት ጓደኛው አንዱ “እንደ እኛ ማደግ እና ያልተነካኩ መሆን አይችሉም ፡፡ በየቀኑ በጎዳናዎች ላይ ጸያፍ ድርጊቶች ፣

ፀረ-ሴማዊ አስተያየቶች ፣ እርኩስ ስሞችን ይጠሩዎታል” ብሏል ፡፡

ኪሲንገር ዓይናፋር ፣ ቀልጣፋ እና የመጽሐፍ ቅዱስ ልጅ ነበር። እናቱ ትዝ አለች ፡፡ በመጽሐፎቹ ውስጥ ስለጠፋ አንዳንድ

ጊዜ በቂ ወጪን አልወጣም ፡፡ ኪሲንገር በአካባቢው በሚገኘው የአይሁድ ትምህርት ቤት የላቀ ችሎታ ያለው ሲሆን

በመንግስት በሚተዳደር የሁለተኛ ደረጃ ትምህርት ቤት ጂምናዚየም የመከታተል ህልም ነበረው ፡፡ ሆኖም ለማመልከት

ዕድሜው ሲደርስ ትምህርት ቤቱ አይሁዶችን መቀበል አቁሟል ፡፡ የእስራኤል እልቂት መጪውን አሳዛኝ ሁኔታ

የተገነዘቡት ኪሲንገር የ 15 ዓመት ወጣት በነበረበት በ 1938 ጀርመንን ወደ አሜሪካ ለመሸሽ ወሰኑ ፡፡

ትምህርት

ነሐሴ 20 ቀን 1938 የኪሲንገር ቤተሰቦች በለንደን ወደ ኒው ዮርክ ከተማ ተጓዙ ፡፡ ቤተሰቦቹ አሜሪካ ሲደርሱ እጅግ

በጣም ድሆች ነበሩ ፣ ኪሲንገር ወዲያውኑ የቤተሰቦቻቸውን ገቢ ለመደጎም መላጨት ብሩሽ ፋብሪካ ውስጥ መሥራት

ጀመሩ ፡፡ በዚሁ ጊዜ ኪሲንገር በኒው ዮርክ ጆርጅ ዋሽንግተን ሁለተኛ ደረጃ ትምህርት ቤት በመመዝገብ እንግሊዘኛን

በከፍተኛ ፍጥነት የተማረበት እና በሁሉም የትምህርት ክፍሎቹ የላቀ ነበር ፡፡ አንድ አስተማሪዎቻቸው በኋላ ላይ ስለ

ኪሲንገር አስታውሰዋል ፣ “እሱ ከጀርመን ስደተኞች ተማሪዎች በጣም ከባድ እና ብስለት ነበር ፣ እናም እነዚያ

ተማሪዎች ከእኛ የበለጠ ከባድ ነበሩ ብዬ አስባለሁ” ብለዋል ፡፡ ኪሲንገር በ 1940 ከሁለተኛ ደረጃ ትምህርቱን አጠናቆ

ወደ ኒው ዮርክ ሲቲ ኮሌጅ በመቀጠል የሂሳብ ባለሙያ ለመሆን ተማረ ፡፡

ሃርቫርድ ዩኒቨርሲቲ

እ.ኤ.አ. በ 1943 ኪሲንገር የአሜሪካ ዜግነት አግኝተው ብዙም ሳይቆይ ከሁለተኛው የዓለም ጦርነት ጋር ለመዋጋት ወደ

ጦር ኃይሉ ተቀጠሩ ፡፡ ስለሆነም ከሄደ ከአምስት ዓመት በኋላ ኪሲንገር አንድ ጊዜ የሸሸበትን ናዚ አገዛዝ በመታገል ወደ

ትውልድ አገሩ ጀርመን ተመለሰ ፡፡ እሱ በመጀመሪያ በፈረንሣይ ውስጥ እንደጠመንጃ መሣሪያ ከዚያም በጀርመን የጂ -2

የስለላ መኮንን ሆኖ አገልግሏል ፡፡ በጦርነቱ ወቅት ኪሲንገር የሂሳብ ባለሙያ ለመሆን ያቀደውን ትቶ በምትኩ በፖለቲካ

ታሪክ ላይ በማተኮር አካዳሚክ ለመሆን እንደሚፈልግ ወሰነ ፡፡

እ.ኤ.አ. በ 1947 ወደ አሜሪካ ሲመለስ የመጀመሪያ ዲግሪ ትምህርቱን ለማጠናቀቅ ወደ ሃርቫርድ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተቀበለ ፡፡

እ.ኤ.አ. በ 1950 የተጠናቀቀው የኪሲንገር ከፍተኛ ፅሁፍ 383 ገጽ ያለው ቶም ነበር - የታሪክ ትርጉም ፡፡ ያልተስተካከለ

ግን ብሩህ የሆነው የእሱ አስፈሪ የእጅ ጽሑፍ የዩኒቨርሲቲው የወደፊቱን የጥናቶች ርዝመት የሚገድብ ደንብ

እንዲያወጣ ያነሳሳው የሃርቫርድ አሰልቺ ሆነ ፡፡ ሆኖም በዎልተር ኢሳሳሰን የ 1992 የሕይወት ታሪክ መሠረት ይህ

“የኪሲንገር ደንብ” በጣም ተረት ሊሆን ይችላል።

እ.ኤ.አ. በ 1950 (እ.ኤ.አ.) summa cum laude ከተመረቀች በኋላ ኪሲንገር ፒኤችዲ ለመከታተል በሃርቫርድ ለመቆየት

ወሰነ ፡፡ በመንግስት መምሪያ ውስጥ. እ.ኤ.አ. በ 1954 እ.ኤ.አ. በ 1812-1822 የተቋቋመው ዓለም እንደገና

የተቋቋመው-‹Matternich› ፣ ካስቴልህግ እና የሰላም ችግሮች ጥናታዊ ጽሑፍ ፣ ናፖሊዮንያን ጦርነቶች ተከትሎ

በአውሮፓ ውስጥ ህጋዊ የሆነ ዓለም አቀፍ ስርዓት እንደገና ለመመስረት የኦስትሪያ ዲፕሎማት የሆኑት ክሌሜን ቮን

ሜተርንቼች ያደረጉትን ጥረት መርምረዋል ፡፡ ሜትተሪች በኪሲንገር በራሱ የውጭ ፖሊሲ ፖሊሲ ላይ ከፍተኛ ተጽዕኖ

አሳድሯል ፣ በተለይም በጥልቀት የተሳሳተ የዓለም ቅደም ተከተል እንኳን ለአብዮት እና ለረብሻ ተመራጭ እንደሆነ በፅኑ

እምነት ፡፡

ኪሲንገር በ 1954 የዶክትሬት ዲግሪያቸውን ከተቀበሉ በኋላ በአባልነት በሃርቫርድ የመቆየት ጥያቄን ተቀበሉ