Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger married Ann Fleischer in 1949. They had two children Elizabeth and David. The couple divorced in 1964.

Ten years after his divorce from Ann, he married Nancy Maginnes. They have been married for more than 40 years now.

Henry Kissinger was born on May 27, 1923 in Furth Bavaria, Germany, into a Jewish family. His father Louis Kissinger was a schoolteacher and his mother Paula Kissinger was a homemaker.

In 1938, because of Nazi persecution, his family had to move to London, England, and finally to New York.

After completing high school, he enrolled in the City College of New York, as a part time student. But his studies were interrupted in early 1943, as he had to be drafted into the army.

During the American advance into Germany, Kissinger, though he was only a private, was put in charge of the administration of the city of Krefeld, as there was lack of German speakers on the division’s intelligence staff. He established a civilian administration within eight days, which earned him the rank of sergeant.

Later he was given charge of a team in Hanover to track down Gestapo officers and other saboteurs. For this, he was awarded the Bronze star.

In 1955, he became a consultant to the National Security Council’s Operations Coordination Board, as well as study director in nuclear weapons and foreign policy at the Council on Foreign relations.

Around this time, he also released his book ‘Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy’ and worked for the Rockfeller Brothers Fund from 1956 to 1958. Later in 1958, he co-founded the Center for International Affairs with Robert Bowie.

From 1958 to 1971, he served as director of the Harvard Defense Studies Program. He also served as a consultant to several government agencies like the Operations Research Office, Rand Corporation, etc.

Henry Kissinger became an advisor to Nelson Rockfeller and supported his bid for the Republican nomination for president in 1960, 1964 and 1968. Richard Nixon became the president in 1968 following which he appointed Kissinger as the National Security Advisor. Later he was made Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977.

The Vietnam War was the greatest foreign policy trial of Kissinger’s career. He combined diplomatic initiatives and troop withdrawals with devastating bombing campaigns on North Vietnam to improve the American bargaining position and maintain its credibility with the international allies and enemies.

’Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy’ published in 1957, is one of his most important works. This book is about American nuclear weapons policy of the Kennedy Administration as well as about how the American government has conducted war since the World War II.

Henry Kissinger wrote several books, especially on politics. ‘The White House Years’ was one of his best works, as it won him the National Book Award for History. Among the momentous events recounted in the book are his secret negotiations with the North Vietnamese in Paris which helped in putting an end to the Vietnam War. Other topics like the Jordan crisis of 1970, the India-Pakistan war of 1971, his secret trip to China, etc. are all covered in this book.