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He was extremely intelligent; He finished first in every school he went to: Who is Henry Kissinger?

The younger generation hardly knows Henry Kissinger. The former US Secretary of State has turned 100. Kissinger was perhaps the most influential geopolitical expert in American political history.

He was born into a Jewish family in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1938 due to Nazi persecution. He was too smart. He finished first in every school he went to. His first job was working in a razor blade factory. He had a passion for reading. He graduated from the City University of New York as an accounting major. But his idea was to climb higher. And so it was, he entered Harvard University as a faculty member.

Here is the career story

Heinz Alfred Kissinger, also known as Henry Kissinger, is a name that people familiar with US politics and international relations often hear. Kissinger, who has been prominent in US foreign policy since the 1970s, has influenced Washington's decision-making processes, and is considered one of the most influential diplomats and theorists of our time, is known as a character between black and white. Kissinger, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for providing a preferable exit for Washington in the dark days of the Vietnam War and for his "contribution to the peace process", on the other hand, because of his "hidden subject" role at the tables in wars and conflicts in different countries and regions, "strategic" in Washington's world politics. Also known as "face".

Henry Alfred Kissinger KCMG (May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

In addition to his official duties as National Security Advisor, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kissinger is one of the most important figures in political science and international relations, and his works and ideas are closely followed by the international relations academy, students, think tanks, media organs, and policymakers. The world heard his name the most in the intensification of the conflict during the Vietnam War and in the "building of the process leading to peace". He has a name in every context in Middle Eastern countries. Israel has always been a separate issue for him. The first thing that comes to mind when Kissinger is mentioned on the stage of history, “shuttle diplomacy” has been the cornerstone of the process leading to the establishment of a peace process between Israel and Arab countries as a result of his high-level visits to Cairo and Tel Aviv. During the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, while many realist figures opposed the war with the concern that it would lead to an open-ended conflict, Kissinger became one of the few realist names who supported the war in question.

The story of Kissinger, who dedicates himself to the USA and how the USA's global hegemony can be sustained, begins in 1923 in Fuerth, Germany. Born to a Jewish family on May 27, 1923, Kissinger's father, Louis Kissinger, is a chemistry professor. Kissinger, whose mother was a housewife, also had a brother named Walter. Kissinger's childhood coincided with this period when the Versailles Peace Treaty kept Europe on its toes and Adolf Hitler was getting stronger. As a matter of fact, the targeting of Jews by the Nazis in Hitler's Germany forced the Kissinger family to emigrate. Kissinger, who moved to the USA with his family at the age of 15, studied at George Washington High School. Working at the factory during this period, Kissinger later attended the City College of New York. Kissinger, who studied accounting here, is called to the army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

During his military service, Kissinger, who attracted attention for his hard work, German language skills, and analysis, saw the USA as a defender due to Nazi Germany's aggression and policies toward Jews.

A Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938, Kissinger excelled academically, receiving his BA degree summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950, studying under William Yandell Elliott. He received his MA and PhD degrees at Harvard University in 1951 and 1954, respectively. For his actions negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam, Kissinger received the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize under controversial circumstances.

Continuing his education life after his military service, Kissinger graduated from Harvard in 1950 with a Rockefeller scholarship. He does his master's and doctorate education at the same university. Kissinger, who started to come to the fore in foreign policy issues in this period, gave great support to the anti-Moscow struggle within the conditions of the Cold War period.

While serving as a professor at Harvard University, Kissinger, who started to advise the National Security Council, plays a key role in determining the measures to be taken against the Soviet Union. He came to the fore as an absolute defender of realpolitik during his time as an advisor to US Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

The German-born young man consolidated his power with his appointment as National Security Advisor by Nixon in 1969. He also served as Deputy Chief of National Security Affairs from 1969 to 1975. The most striking point here was Kissinger's establishment of relations with China under the leadership of Mao. Kissinger's visit to Beijing in 1971 and subsequently President Nixon's visit to China in 1972 brought about a softening in Washington-Beijing relations.

Another conflict area in which Kissinger played an important role in this period is Vietnam. In the great power competition that took place in the conditions of the Cold War period, the US administration did not remain indifferent to the developments in Asia. During the conflict that started in Vietnam in 1955, the Washington administration, which supported the anti-communists against the communist bloc countries North Vietnam, the Soviet Union, and China, was directly involved in the war in 1963. Washington's most important equation here was the assumption that the loss of Vietnam would lead to the spread of communism, as in the domino theory. For this reason, since the Truman administration, the Washington administration has supported South Vietnam against communism. Kissinger supported the US presence in Vietnam and opposed the Democratic Party's peace initiatives. Kissinger, who was one of the names that supported the pro-war program of Presidential candidate Nixon in the 1968 elections, also supported these policies during his consultancy service in 1969. However, the fact that the war turned into a trauma for the USA and the increasing opposition to the war in the US public opinion also affected the approach of Nixon and Kissinger. In the face of the increasing losses of the USA in Vietnam, it turned to two different policies. On the one hand, he stood out as a peace negotiator, on the other hand, he became the name that increased the violence of the conflict in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Writers of historical texts prefer to write Kissinger as the diplomat who brought peace to Vietnam. Indeed, his role in ending the war in Vietnam would be the most important step in Kissinger's reaching the Nobel Peace Prize. Kissinger, who played an important role in foreign policy and security issues as National Security Advisor and won the Nobel Prize, would take office as US Secretary of State in September 1973.

Following Kissinger's inauguration as the Secretary of State, the ongoing Israeli-Arab wars in the Middle East exploded again. Egypt and Syria, which had suffered a heavy defeat in the 1967 war, launched a new attack this time against Israel. Sending a message to President Nixon on the day the October 6 war began, Nixon would use the expression, "The United States will witness a war in the Middle East today." Considering Israel's national security as the most important red line in the Middle East since its establishment, the Washington administration tried to directly influence the war in question. However, Nixon, like previous US Presidents, wanted to develop relations with Arab countries rather than offering unlimited support to Israel. As a matter of fact, the most important factor for both Nixon and Kissinger was to stay away from initiatives that would increase Moscow's influence in the Middle East. Therefore, in the Arab-Israeli conflicts, Washington was careful not to alienate the Arabs from itself. In particular, the possibility of Moscow increasing its presence in the Middle East through Egypt and Syria forced the Washington administration to act in a balanced way from time to time.

This led to both President Nixon and his Jewish Secretary of State Kissinger being targeted by the arrows of the Jewish lobby. In particular, Israel's defeat from the October 6th War (Yom-Kippur) and the trauma caused by this for the Jews increased the reaction of the Jewish Lobby to the Washington administration. According to the Jewish lobby, which brought the bill to Washington for the defeat of Israel, which defeated the Arab states in the 6-Day War, the attitude of Nixon and Kissinger played an important role in the defeat of Israel.

Israel's refusal to make any commitments on its nuclear program has been another important problem between US President Nixon and Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir since 1969. Nixon and Kissinger worried that Israel's nuclear program might lead Egypt and Syria to develop nuclear weapons and further strengthen relations with the Soviet Union. For this reason, Kissinger, who carried out intense diplomacy with Tel Aviv, managed to get a commitment to the nuclear program from Israeli Prime Minister Meir. Although this situation reduced the tension in the context of the nuclear program, the 1973 war continued to shake the dynamics in the region deeply.

The most important challenge that Kissinger faced during this period was the policy of raising the oil prices of the OPEC member Arab countries holding the oil card. Especially the Palestinian policy of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and the support he gave to Arab countries turned into an important problem for Kissinger to overcome.

Kissinger, who started to work at Georgetown University after leaving the State Department, added his important "achievements" in diplomacy to his academic identity. Continuing to direct the US foreign policy during his university education, Kissinger continued to be influential on US Presidents and foreign policy decision-makers with his books and ideas.

Founding Kissinger Associates Inc in 1982, Kissinger continued to work actively in areas such as international relations, politics, geopolitics, investment, and consulting with governments. Considered a strong name in the academic field, Kissinger has prepared studies in areas such as international order, power competition, and relations with China.

Some of Kissinger's works are as follows: