Henry Kissinger, the controversial U.S. diplomat who served as Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, has died. He was 100.

According to Reuters, quoting consulting firm Kissinger Associates Inc on Nov. 30 (Singapore time), Kissinger died in his home in Connecticut.

Refugee and academic

Kissinger was born in 1923 in Germany to a Jewish family, who fled the country when Adolf Hitler rose to power.

Settling in the U.S., Kissinger served in the Army in World War II and attended Harvard University, later joining their faculty.

Kissinger entered the national political scene after Richard Nixon won the 1968 U.S. presidential election, and appointed him National Security Advisor (NSA).

He played a major role in foreign affairs, including the Vietnam War, the bombing of Cambodia and the Paris Peace Accords.

He was appointed Secretary of State in 1973, giving him even greater prominence on the international scene.

National Security Advisor and Secretary of State

During Kissinger's tenure as both NSA and State Secretary, major events of the 20th Century took place, such as the U.S. détente with China, the 1971 Bangladesh War for independence, and the 1973 Yom Kippur / Ramadan War between Israel and a coalition of states, led by Syria and Egypt.

Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for "jointly negotiating a cease-fire in Vietnam". His co-recipient, Le Duc Tho, refused to accept the honour, and two members of the Nobel committee resigned in protest.

Despite the Watergate Scandal in 1974, which led to Nixon's resignation, Kissinger retained his position as Secretary of State under Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford.

Kissinger's primacy in foreign affairs was reduced after Ford lost the election to Jimmy Carter in 1976. Carter's own successor, Ronald Reagan, did not work as closely with Kissinger as his Republican predecessors.

Kissinger moved into private consulting and remained an active commenter on foreign affairs for the rest of his life.

Top image via Marsha Miller/LBJ Library