Kissinger, Henry

Kissinger, Henry (1923–), Statesman.Kissinger's family emigrated from Fuerth, Germany, to escape Nazi persecution in 1938. After U.S. Army service during World War II and with the occupation forces in Germany, Kissinger compiled a superlative record as an undergraduate and graduate student at Harvard University. He then became a prominent academic specialist in international relations and nuclear strategy. While a professor of government at Harvard (1955–68), he wrote widely on international relations and nuclear weapons, arguing that the possession of nuclear weapons by the United States and the Soviet Union had not fundamentally altered the balance of power. States still pursued basic interests, nuclear weapons were a tool of influence, and the nuclear powers could manage to contain a destructive arms race.

Kissinger advised New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, Republican presidents, and their senior foreign policy subordinates. During the 1960s, he tried to fashion NATO's nuclear strategy in light of France's withdrawal, urging understanding of French and German pride. As the Vietnam War intensified after 1965, Kissinger was drawn deeply into efforts to end it. He undertook an important diplomatic mission for President Lyndon B. Johnson (1967), but his attempt to arrange a cease‐fire faltered when the U.S. government refused to promise an unconditional halt to bombing of all North Vietnam.

President Richard M. Nixon named him national security adviser in 1969; in September 1973, Kissinger was also confirmed as secretary of state, a position he held concurrently until November 1975, when President Gerald R. Ford appointed Brent Scowcroft national security adviser; Kissinger remained secretary of state until the end of Ford's administration.

During these eight years, Kissinger helped craft the policy of detente with the Soviet Union and to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Under his direction, the United States and the Soviet Union made significant progress toward arms control, with the Interim Agreement of Limitations of Strategic Armaments (SALT I, 1972), the Anti‐Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972), and the Vladivostok Agreement (1974). These efforts provoked opposition from conservatives both Democratic and Republican who incorrectly accused Kissinger of drafting agreements that gave the Soviet Union a military advantage over the United States.

Kissinger worked with Nixon to reduce U.S. involvement in Vietnam, concluding the Paris Peace Agreements establishing a cease‐fire in January 1973. The peace proved remarkably short‐lived: both North and South Vietnam repeatedly violated the cease‐fire. Kissinger argued strenuously for additional aid to South Vietnam, but by 1975 U.S. public opinion had turned sharply against any additional involvement.

Kissinger's accomplishments before 1974 won him wide public praise; he earned the Nobel Peace Prize for arranging the cease‐fire in Vietnam. After 1975, however, his reputation diminished. His diplomatic triumphs often were based on illusion and manipulation. Believing that only power mattered in international affairs, both Kissinger and Nixon often expressed contempt for the democratic processes of foreign policy. Further, Kissinger appeared arrogant and showed little desire to promote traditional U.S. standards of human rights in other countries.
[See also SALT Treaties.]

Bibliography

Henry Kissinger , Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy, 1958.
Robert D. Schulzinger , Henry Kissinger: Doctor of Diplomacy, 1989.
Walter Isaacson , Kissinger: A Biography, 1992.
Henry Kissinger , Diplomacy, 1994.

Robert D. Schulzinger