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[[Image:Kissinger Henry.jpg|frame|right]]

[[Image:Kissinger Henry.jpg|frame|right]]

'''Henry Kissinger''' (1923-  ), American statesman and exponent of "realism" in foreign policy; he dominated foreign policy in the the administrations of presidents [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Gerald Ford]], as [[Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs|National Security Advisor]] and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], holding both positions for a time.  He won the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for reaching a peace that ended the [[Vietnam War]].  In close collaboration with Nixon, he  created a '''[[détente]] policy''' that called for an end to the [[Cold War]] and for friendly relations with both the [[Soviet Union]] and [[China]].  His position on détente was rejected by [[Ronald Reagan]] in the 1976 campaign for the presidential nomination. But Reagan lost the election to Ford, and in turn Ford was defeated by Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]], as Kissinger retired to write his highly revealing memoirs and consult for businesses worldwide.

'''Henry Kissinger''' (1923-  ), American statesman and exponent of a [[liberal]] policy of "realism" in foreign policy; he dominated foreign policy in the the administrations of presidents [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Gerald Ford]], as [[Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs|National Security Advisor]] and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], holding both positions for a time.  He won the much-criticized 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for reaching a peace that ended the [[Vietnam War]].  In close collaboration with Nixon, he  created a '''[[détente]] policy''' that called for an end to the [[Cold War]] and for friendly relations with both the [[Soviet Union]] and [[China]].  His position on détente was rejected by [[Ronald Reagan]] in the 1976 campaign for the presidential nomination. Although Reagan narrowly lost that primary to Ford, due to the immense advantage of incumbency for Ford, Reagan won a landslide victory four years later on a platform that repudiated Kissinger's polices.  Kissinger was then left out of any prominent role in the [[Reagan Administration]].

==Life==

==Life==

Kissinger was born in Fürth, Germany, on May 27, 1923 to a middle class Jewish family. They fled Nazi persecution, and arrived in New York in 1938, where he changed his first name from Heinz to Henry and rapidly Americanized in everything except his thick accent.  He attended public schools and City University before being drafted at age 19. He returned to Europe during World War II fighting with the U.S. Army; he was in the infantry at first, but his heroism, courage, and daring got him promoted to intelligence. He was discharged as a sergeant in 1946. He spent a year as a civilian instructor in ''de-Nazification'' at an Army school in Germany; charged with de-Nazifying a German town, he did so with remarkable ease.  He had power and responsibility far beyond his years because of his intelligence, his energy, and his commitment to opposing the Nazis.

Kissinger was born in Fürth, Germany, on May 27, 1923 to a middle class Jewish family. They fled Nazi persecution, and arrived in New York in 1938, where he changed his first name from Heinz to Henry but never overcame his thick foreign accent.  He attended public schools and City University before being drafted at age 19. He returned to Europe during World War II fighting with the U.S. Army; he was in the infantry at first, but his heroism, courage, and daring got him promoted to intelligence. He was discharged as a sergeant in 1946. He spent a year as a civilian instructor in ''de-Nazification'' at an Army school in Germany; charged with de-Nazifying a German town, he did so with remarkable ease.  He had power and responsibility far beyond his years because of his intelligence, his energy, and his commitment to opposing the Nazis.

In the army, Kissinger was informally tutored by Fritz Kraemer, a fellow refugee with two PhD's. In 1950 Kissinger earned his B.A. ''summa cum laude'' at Harvard with a 377 page essay on "The Meaning of History: Reflections on Spengler, Toynbee and Kant."<ref> William Y. Elliott  was his director but only read half of it; the Government Department thereupon ruled that future senior theses could not exceed 40,000 words.</ref> He finished his Ph.D. in 1956 at Harvard, with a dissertation on "A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace 1812-22," a study praising how the conservative diplomats of the era built a stable and peaceful international system after the Napoleonic wars.

In the army, Kissinger was informally tutored by Fritz Kraemer, a fellow refugee with two PhD's. In 1950 Kissinger earned his B.A. ''summa cum laude'' at Harvard with a 377 page essay on "The Meaning of History: Reflections on Spengler, Toynbee and Kant."<ref> William Y. Elliott  was his director but only read half of it; the Government Department thereupon ruled that future senior theses could not exceed 40,000 words.</ref> He finished his Ph.D. in 1956 at Harvard, with a dissertation on "A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace 1812-22," a study praising how the conservative diplomats of the era built a stable and peaceful international system after the Napoleonic wars.