four events that marked the career of the emblematic head of American diplomacy

The former Secretary of State mainly distinguished himself by warming up relations between the United States and China. But he is also the man who supported Augusto Pinochet’s coup in Chile, whose dictatorship left thousands dead.

“Henry Kissinger was a giant of history. His century of ideas and diplomacy had a lasting influence on his time and on our world”wrote Emmanuel Macron on X (formerly Twitter). Henry Kissinger, former head of diplomacy of the United States and figure of the Cold War, has died at the age of 100, his consulting firm announced on Thursday, November 30.

Franceinfo looks back on four events which marked the long career of the former American Secretary of State.

His secret visit to China in 1971

The sequence put an end to the isolation of the Asian giant and contributed to the rise of Beijing on the international scene. Henry Kissinger secretly traveled to China in July 1971 to establish ties with the country, whose relations with the Soviet Union were particularly tense at the time. A first trip which paved the way for President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing in 1972.

A sign that the initiative has had a lasting impact on the country, the memory of the former head of American diplomacy was saluted on Chinese state television. In a long obituary broadcast Thursday, the channel highlighted its “historic contribution to opening the door of Sino-US relations”. Henry Kissinger was “an important witness” of “development of relations between the two countries” And “had a deep connection” with China, materialized by its “numerous meetings with Chinese leaders”underlined the channel.

Still popular in China, he visited there in July 2023 and met Chinese President Xi Jinping on that occasion.

The death of the former diplomat was at the top of the most discussed topics on the Chinese social network Weibo on Thursday.

His work for détente between Washington and Moscow, and the first agreement limiting nuclear weapons

The man who – a rare thing – held the roles of National Security Advisor and Secretary of State from 1973 to 1975 left his mark on the 20th century and in particular the Cold War period. He specifically instilled the policy of détente between the United States and the Soviet Union and relaunched negotiations for the reduction of their respective nuclear arsenals.

These discussions led to the conclusion of the first agreement to limit nuclear weapons (Salt 1) between the two powers, signed in May 1972. “What characterizes him best is his anti-communist ambiguity, he leaves the world with détente with the Soviet Union and communist China”comments on the daily The echoes.

His controversial Nobel Prize received in 1973

Always in great secrecy, Henry Kissinger led negotiations to end the Vietnam War while, at the same time, the country and its Cambodian neighbor were heavily bombed. Henry Kissinger received, jointly with North Vietnamese leader Le Duc Tho, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for signing a ceasefire.

Duke Tho nevertheless refuses the reward, arguing that “peace has not really been established”. For his part, Henry Kissinger does not dare to go to Oslo, the Norwegian capital, to receive the prize, for fear of hostile demonstrations. He was represented at the ceremony by the American ambassador to Norway. Added to this is the resignation of one of the members of the Nobel committee, upset by this distinction.

“Will it still be possible in the future to award the Nobel Peace Prize without causing shrugs of the shoulders?then asks The world. The masquerade of [cette attribution] prompts us to ask the question or to re-define the word ‘peace’, compromised like other noble concepts, by political interests and official lies.”

Henry Kissinger proposed, in 1975, to return the prize. The Nobel Foundation refuses. “Nothing allows this in these statutes, any more than revoking a prize already awarded”, reports France Culture. Enough to consecrate this 1973 Nobel Peace Prize as one of the most controversial in history.

His support for the coup d’état in Chile in 1973

Augusto Pinochet, with the support of the CIA, organized a military coup in Chile on September 11, 1973 against the socialist president Salvador Allende, democratically elected three years earlier.

Why did Washington support the overthrow of Salvador Allende? The United States perceived the socialist as a threat to its interests and as a friend of the Soviet Union, summarized American public radio NPR in September 2023. Henry Kissinger was “with all my heart” Augusto Pinochet, wrote the Spanish daily El País in 2005, based on documents dating from 1976. After his coup d’état, Augusto Pinochet imposed a military dictatorship, marked by bloody repression, until 1990. During these years, around 40,000 people were tortured and 3,200 were murdered or are still considered missing.