Henry Kissinger: Polarising architect of Cold War era American foreign policy

Henry Kissinger, the divisive 56th US secretary of state and architect of American foreign policy during the Nixon and Ford administrations, died on 29 November at 100 years old.

Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, Kissinger leaves behind a complex legacy: hailed as a grandmaster of geopolitical chess by some while denounced as a war criminal by others.

The academic-turned diplomat had an unusually outsized impact on the US’s approach to foreign policy, having maintained close relationships with the White House through 11 different administrations, both Republican and Democrat.

Heinz Alfred Kissinger was born on 27 May 1923 in Furth, Bavaria to a Jewish school teacher, Louis Kissinger,