The death of Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, at the age of 101 was not followed only by the eulogies usual for the departure of a diplomat of the highest caliber. In today’s polarized world, it would be unusual if everyone agreed on anything, let alone a man who shaped some of the most important events on the planet. However, the messages on the occasion of his death are so extremely contradictory that it is hard to believe that they refer to the same man. And they do. This is exactly what makes him one of the most important diplomats of the second half of the 20th century.

 On one hand, he was praised as the personification of realpolitik, a tireless negotiator and peacemaker for whom the security of the world is more important than political victory, and on the other hand, he was criticized for military actions, support for dictatorial regimes, neglect of human rights for the sake of strengthening American and personal influence…

 One Man – Dueling Descriptions 

 US President Joe Biden said that Kissinger “had a fearless intellect and a lofty political focus”, French leader Emmanuel Macron described him as a “giant of history”, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping emphasized that “he was a world-renowned strategist and an old and good friend of the Chinese people”.

The name of Henry Kissinger is inseparably linked to a pragmatic foreign policy that, at one point, pacified international tensions and led to the most important Soviet-American agreements that strengthened global security.

– Vladimir Putin

“Kissinger was a wise and talented statesman. His name is inextricably linked with a pragmatic foreign policy, which at one point calmed international tensions and led to the most important Soviet-American agreements that strengthened global security,” said Vladimir Putin, President of Russian Federation. 

All this sufficiently illustrates that his realpolitik and willingness to sit down at the negotiating table with the fiercest enemies made him a great man in the eyes of major powers.

In smaller countries, his moves were seen differently so there were never any excuses for him.

Thus, Juan Gabriel Valdez, the ambassador of Chile to the US, said that Kissinger’s “historical brilliance could never mask his deep moral misery”. In Taiwan, many assessed his death “as good news”, while Dr. Sofal Er, a professor at the State University Arizona, a migrant from Cambodia, said that Kissinger’s legacy in her native country is “a legacy of horror“.

Henry Kissinger, a war criminal adored by the American ruling class, has finally died.

– Rolling Stone

 Even in America, harsh words could be heard, so Rolling Stone published an article titled “Henry Kissinger, the war criminal adored by America’s ruling class, is finally dead.”

 However, everything he did, be it good or bad, is easy to judge today, from a distance, and ignore that he was operating in a different, much more brutal age, and that it was his willingness to negotiate, bluff, or make concessions was the key from preventing the Cold War turn into a nuclear showdown, and that the world, at least globally, becomes a better place. That solutions were important to him, and not whether, because of difficult decisions, the public will judge him in the future.

Greatest Successes and Mistakes of Henry Kissinger 

The life of one of the most important politicians in the world is a typical example of the American dream – the man who shaped the politics of the USA was not born in that country at all but migrated to it.

Heinz Alfred Kissinger was born in 1923 in Firth, Germany, and he was only 15 years old when his family, of Jewish origin, crossed the ocean to escape Nazi persecution. He returned to his native country in 1944 as American soldier Henry Kissinger, in the thick of battle. He used the connections acquired in the army to go to Harvard, and then to politics. She first brought him position, then power, fame and money. 

World War II shaped Kissinger’s worldview and politics, and the idea that conflicts between the most powerful forces in the world must be prevented at all costs became his guiding principle.

One thing is very clear from Kissinger’s biography – World War II and how it shaped his view of the world and politics, and the idea that conflicts between the world’s most powerful powers must be prevented at all costs became his guiding idea. That is why it is not surprising that his greatest successes in the position of secretary of state for two presidents, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, are considered precisely the opening of America to China, the calming of tensions between Washington and Moscow, the peace negotiations on the end of the Vietnam War, shuttle diplomacy as the basis of negotiations in the Middle East… 

However, while he was doing his best to establish peace and balance in the global arena, many criticize him for supporting military coups against Chilean President Salvador Allende and Argentine President Isabella Peron, bombing Cambodia and paving the way for the Khmer Rouge, supporting the genocidal regime in Pakistan, the bloody Indonesian invasion East Timor…

Henry Kissinger was one of the worst individuals in the service of the forces of good; he was a man of ideas at the center of American strategy who, in the final analysis, brought good to the world.

– Nicholas Thompson

Criticism, whether justified or not, does not diminish his role. As the historian Nicholas Thompson would say, “Henry Kissinger was one of the worst people in the service of the forces of good, he was a man of ideas at the center of American strategy who, in the final analysis, brought good to the world“.

In the midst of conflicts around the world and the worsening relations of the USA with both Russia and China, today it seems that the planet needs a real politician like Kissinger, but that it is easier for many people to give in to populism and worry more about what about them. thoughts, but about solving real problems.

Henry Kissinger and Yugoslavia

As US Secretary of State from 1969 to 1975 and creator of world policy at the height of the Cold War, Henry Kissinger had significant relations with Yugoslavia and its president Josip Broz Tito. He was the organizer of Nixon’s visit to Belgrade, he came to our capital himself, and influenced the improvement of relations between the two countries. He considered Yugoslavia at the time, as he himself stated, “a useful factor for the USA both because of the Balkans and Eastern Europe, but also as a symbol of independence in relation to the countries of the Eastern bloc.” In addition, as a true supporter of realpolitik, he believed “that Yugoslav independence improved America’s global position” because “the security of Europe increased with Tito’s refusal to join the Warsaw Pact“.

Yugoslavia was a useful factor for the United States both because of the Balkans and Eastern Europe, but also a symbol of independence from the countries of the Eastern Bloc. – Henry Kissinger

Long after leaving office, Kissinger continued to follow events in our region. In the 1990s, he was often, although admittedly not always, a harsh critic of his country’s policy towards Serbia and the Serbs. How well he understood the situation in our region is perhaps best seen in the text he wrote for Newsweek on April 4, 1999. 

’The war in Kosovo is the result of a conflict that has lasted for centuries. It takes place on the border between the Ottoman and Austrian empires, between Islam and Christianity, between Serbian and Albanian nationalism. Ethnic groups lived in peace only when it was imposed by either foreign empires or Tito’s dictatorship. President Bill Clinton estimates that, after a short period of NATO occupation, the ethnic groups will reconcile. There is no real basis for that assumption. “Ethnic groups in Bosnia have not reconciled even after three years since the arrival of NATO,” he concluded at the time.

The war in Kosovo is the result of conflicts that have lasted for centuries. It happens on the border of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, between Islam and Christianity, between Serbian and Albanian nationalism.

– Henry Kissinger

Today, 24 years later, this assessment seems to have been more than spot on. One could say it would be better if American politicians listened to him.