His demise would have been untimely even if he had lived for another 25 years

When someone dies at the age of 100 it is rarely deemed to be premature. In the case of Henry Kissinger, he maintained his unique aptitudes right to the end of his life and his insights on foreign and strategic policy matters were so perceptive and original and his gifts for repartee and aphorisms were undiminished; his demise would have been untimely even if he had lived for another 25 years. He was both one of history’s great foreign ministers and one of the world’s outstanding academic historians of international relations and great power strategy.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Don't have an account? Create Account

He was also one of the world’s most renowned and interesting personalities and one of its greatest public intellectuals for more than 50 years. There have been other distinguished secretaries of state since Henry Kissinger, such as George Shultz and James Baker. But they also held other cabinet positions and their backgrounds were not in foreign affairs and nor did they particularly specialize in foreign policy matters after they retired from government with the presidents whom they served.

Most people who have held the positions of secretary of state of the United States and national security advisor to the president are interesting conversationalists and generally well-informed and formidably experienced; it is almost always interesting to speak with them. But throughout the 46 years after his government service, Henry Kissinger was always extremely well-informed about almost every relevant subject in relations between the major countries in the world. He continued to know practically all the world’s principal leaders and almost all of them sought his advice. So Henry Kissinger always spoke with the same intellectual authority as he had when in high office but without as comprehensive a duty of discretion. I travelled with him in a number of countries over 40 years and he was frequently conveyed about in official motorcades and spent more........

© National Post