Immigrant of the Day: Henry Kissinger

Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German-born American diplomat, and 1973 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the Nixon administration. He continued in the latter position after Gerald Ford became President in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. A proponent of Realpolitik, Kissinger played a dominant role in United States foreign policy between 1969 and 1977. During this time, he pioneered the policy of détente that led to a significant relaxation in U.S.–Soviet tensions and played a crucial role in 1971 talks with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai that concluded with a rapprochement between the two countries and the formation of a new strategic anti-Soviet Sino–American alliance.

During his time in the Nixon and Ford administrations, Kissinger cut a flamboyant figure, appearing at social occasions with many celebrities. His foreign policy record made him enemies amongst the anti-war left and strong anti-Communist hawks alike on the right.

Kissinger was born in Fürth in Franconia (Bavaria), as Heinz Alfred Kissinger In 1938, fleeing Nazi persecution, his family moved to New York. Kissinger was naturalized a U.S. citizen on June 19, 1943, while in military training at Camp Croft in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Kissinger received his A.B. degree summa cum laude at Harvard College in 1950. Kissinger has been rumored to be the only person to receive a perfect grade point average from Harvard, but in fact he received one B in his senior year. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard University in 1952 and 1954, respectively. Kissinger remained at Harvard as a member of the faculty at the university’s Department of Government and at its Center for International Affairs. He became Associate Director of the Center for International Affairs in 1957. During 1955 and 1956, he was also Study Director in Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy at the Council of Foreign Relations. He released his Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy the following year. From 1956 to 1958 he worked for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund as director of their Special Studies Project. He was Director of the Harvard Defense Studies Program between 1958 and 1971.

Kissinger was also Director of the Harvard International Seminar between 1951 and 1971. Outside of academia, he served as a consultant to several government agencies, including the Operations Research Office, the Rand Corporation, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the Department of State.

Kissinger became a supporter of, and advisor to, Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York, who sought the Republican nomination for President in 1960, 1964 and 1968. After Richard Nixon won the presidency in 1968, he offered Kissinger the job of National Security Advisor.

Kissinger currently lives with his second wife, Nancy Maginnes, in Kent, Connecticut. He is the head of Kissinger Associates, a consulting firm.

KJ