In Graphics: The life and times of America’s most controversial diplomat, Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger was arguably America’s most influential diplomat. He exerted influence on global affairs like never seen before under two presidents, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He won the Nobel Peace Prize and was also vilified, many dubbed him as a warmonger – even a war criminal. For eight restless years — first as national security adviser, later as secretary of state, and for a time in the middle holding both titles — Kissinger ranged across the breadth of major foreign policy issues. He conducted the first “shuttle diplomacy” in the quest for peace in West Asia. He used secret channels to pursue ties between the United States and China, ending decades of isolation and mutual hostility. He initiated the Paris negotiations that ultimately provided a face-saving means — a “decent interval,” he called it — to get the United States out of a costly war in Vietnam. Two years later, Saigon fell to the communists. He pursued a policy of detente with the Soviet Union that led to arms control agreements and raised the possibility that the tensions of the Cold War and its nuclear threat did not have to last forever. He became infamous for his disdain for India , calling Indians bastards and former prime minister Indira Gandhi a bitch. Even after he left the government, he was never a man out of sight. In his later years, he cultivated the reputation of a respected statesman, giving speeches, and offering advice to Republicans and Democrats alike. At the age of 99, he was still out of tour for his book. In July, he met Xi Jinping in Beijing as US-Chinese relations hit a low. Kissinger was a man who never became irrelevant. Here’s a look back at his life.