1. Henry Kissinger, who shaped world affairs under two presidents, dies at 100. The diplomat exercised an unparalleled control over U.S. international affairs and policymaking. He was also the target of relentless critics who deemed him unprincipled and amoral. Presidential adviser Henry A. Kissinger in June 1972 before leaving on his fourth trip to the People's Republic of China. James Palmer AP. Listen 35 min. Share. Add to your saved stories. Save. Henry A. Kissinger, a scholar, statesman, and celebrity diplomat who wielded unparalleled power over U.S. foreign policy throughout the administrations of Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford and who for decades afterward as a consultant and writer proffered opinions that shaped global politics and business died Nov. 29 at his home in Connecticut. He was 100. His death was announced in a statement by his consulting firm, which did not give a cause. As a Jewish immigrant fleeing Nazi Germany, Dr. Kissinger spoke little English when he arrived in the United States as a teenager in 1938. But he harnessed a keen intellect, a mastery of history, and his skill as a writer to rise quickly from Harvard undergraduate to Harvard faculty member before establishing himself in Washington. As the only person ever to be White House national security adviser and secretary of state at the same time, he exercised a control over U.S. foreign policy that has rarely been equaled by anyone who was not president. He and Vietnam's Le Duc Tho shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the secret negotiations that produced the 1973 Paris agreement and ended U.S. military participation in the Vietnam War. His famous shuttle diplomacy after the 1973 Middle East war helped stabilize relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. As the impresario of Nixon's historic opening to China and as the theoretician of détente with the Soviet Union, Dr. Kissinger earned much of the credit for seismic policy shifts that redirected the course of world affairs. Henry Kissinger, the only person ever to be White House national security adviser and secretary of state at the same time, died at the age of 100. Video. Jason Aldag. With his German accent, incisive wit, owlish looks, and zest for socializing in Hollywood and dating movie stars, he was instantly recognized all over the world in stark contrast to most of his understated predecessors. Shamelessly courting publicity, he was as much a star of the tabloids as he was of the heavy-duty quarterlies that ruminated over his ideas about geostrategy. When he was appointed secretary of state, a Gallup poll found him to be the most admired person in the country. But he also became the target of relentless critics who deemed him unprincipled and amoral. He refrained from traveling to Oslo to accept the Nobel award for fear of hostile demonstrations. Tho rejected the prize outright, and in later years, the animosity he inspired would intensify. What he viewed as pragmatic, many writers and analysts regarded as unprincipled maneuvering, unguided by respect for human rights or even human life.