Henry Kissinger, who died in November at the age of 100, was one of the most significant, and controversial, figures of the 20th century. RANA MITTER spoke to Matt Elton about the American diplomat’s life and legacy
COMPILED BY MATT ELTON
BEHIND THE NEWS
Henry Kissinger came to the US while still in his teens, as a Jewish refugee fleeing Nazi persecution. What impact did that have on his later worldview?
It had a big impact. Kissinger was born Heinz Kissinger, and changed his name when he got to the US. I think the disorder that shaped his childhood – the feeling that life was always unpredictable – was a major force in his decisions later in his career.
One of Kissinger’s key relationships was with Richard Nixon. How did the men meet, and how did they view each other?
Kissinger had worked for other US administrations in the 1960s, including that of John F Kennedy. He then got to know some of the team working on Nixon’s election campaign: by this point, the former vice president was out of office and seeking to run again in 1968.
We know that Kissinger gave the Nixon team clandestine advice on the Vietnam War. Because the information was obtained from contacts in the Democratic administration, this possibly meant he was breaking some of the protocols he should have been observing. It impressed Nixon, however, and when he gained power in 1969 he appointed Kissinger as national security advisor.
Across the time they worked together, Nixon gave Kissinger pretty much carte blanche on foreign affairs. The secretary of state at the time was essentially cut out of the loop on most of the important things. Let’s be frank: Nixon and Kissinger did not always get on well. Yet they were more than the sum of their parts, and were essential to each other in the overall diplomatic contribution they made. Their relationship was one of the most ambivalent and interesting in 20th-century politics.
Does that carte blanche you mentioned tell us something about Nixon, Kissinger, the politics of the era, or all of the above?
I think they’re all relevant. It’s worth noting that, between 1973 and 1975, Kissinger was both national security advisor and the secretary of state [holding the latter role until 1977]. Nobody had held those positions at the same time before, and the
