Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger turned 100 on Sunday. He was born in Furth, Germany, and was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany in 1938 at age 15. He graduated from Harvard College in 1950, and went on to earn his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard University in 1951 and 1954.
During his century he spent decades as the premier authority on international relations as American diplomat, political theorist, geopolitical consultant, and politician who served as secretary of state and national security advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
In November of 1975, he toured the Trans Alaska Pipeline at Fairbanks with Sen. Ted Stevens and Congressman Don Young, as well as President Gerald Ford. The trip was part of a trip to China with Ford, and the two were stopping over to witness the progress of one of the nation’/’s largest projects to make America energy independent.
Kissinger retired from government service 1977, but has remained a force on the international stage, although he is both revered and reviled. Critics say he tolerated war crimes committed by U.S. allies during his tenure, while others say he was the most effective Secretary of State in a century.
Photo: Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Senator Ted Stevens, President Gerald Ford, and Congressman Don Young on a visit to Fairbanks in November of 1975.
