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C. TODAY
On the Passing of
Henry A. Kissinger
1923 - 2023
“however different the great
statesmen of history, they had a
common sense of the past and
a vision for the future.”
PRESS STATEMENT
By ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE
Henry Kissinger once wrote that, “however As Secretary of State and as National Security
different the great statesmen of history, they Advisor, Henry made countless history-bending
had a common sense of the past and a vision for the decisions. To serve as America’s chief diplomat today
future.” Henry was not only a student of history and is to move through a world that bears Henry’s lasting
strategy. Over the course of an extraordinary 100 imprint – from the relationships he forged, to the
years, he made both. tools he pioneered, to the architecture he built.
His family fled to the United States from Nazi Henry wrote that, “For any student, change is the
Germany in 1938, when he was 15 years old. Finding law of life.” A lifelong student, Henry anticipated
refuge in America, he later wrote, “I personally and understood the forces changing our world, and
experienced what our nation meant to the rest helped us grapple with their implications. Even in his
of the world, especially to the persecuted and tenth decade, he was as determined to look to the
disadvantaged.” future as he was to the past.
He loved the nation that had taken in his family and, It was Henry’s enduring capacity to bring his
for the rest of his life, felt a duty and a desire to serve strategic acumen and intellect to bear on the
America, its people, its idea. emerging challenges of each passing decade that led
Presidents, Secretaries of State, National Security
Drafted into the U.S. Army at age 19, he joined the Allied Advisors, and other leaders from both parties to seek
forces that liberated Europe in World War Two, earning his counsel. Including me – whether I was traveling
a Bronze Star for uncovering a Nazi sleeper cell. to China more than 50 years after his transformative
trip, or seeking his counsel as we shaped our
The timeless challenge facing all diplomats, Kissinger approach to artificial intelligence, on which he was
observed, is having to make pivotal decisions thinking, writing, and advising prolifically, up to the
when time is short, information is incomplete, and final weeks of his life.
consequences are unknowable. Unlike the historian,
the academic, or the analyst, Henry wrote, “The Few people were better students of history – and
statesman is permitted only one guess; his mistakes even fewer people did more to shape history – than
are irretrievable.” Henry Kissinger.
19 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
On the Passing of
Henry A. Kissinger
1923 - 2023
“however different the great
statesmen of history, they had a
common sense of the past and
a vision for the future.”
PRESS STATEMENT
By ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE
Henry Kissinger once wrote that, “however As Secretary of State and as National Security
different the great statesmen of history, they Advisor, Henry made countless history-bending
had a common sense of the past and a vision for the decisions. To serve as America’s chief diplomat today
future.” Henry was not only a student of history and is to move through a world that bears Henry’s lasting
strategy. Over the course of an extraordinary 100 imprint – from the relationships he forged, to the
years, he made both. tools he pioneered, to the architecture he built.
His family fled to the United States from Nazi Henry wrote that, “For any student, change is the
Germany in 1938, when he was 15 years old. Finding law of life.” A lifelong student, Henry anticipated
refuge in America, he later wrote, “I personally and understood the forces changing our world, and
experienced what our nation meant to the rest helped us grapple with their implications. Even in his
of the world, especially to the persecuted and tenth decade, he was as determined to look to the
disadvantaged.” future as he was to the past.
He loved the nation that had taken in his family and, It was Henry’s enduring capacity to bring his
for the rest of his life, felt a duty and a desire to serve strategic acumen and intellect to bear on the
America, its people, its idea. emerging challenges of each passing decade that led
Presidents, Secretaries of State, National Security
Drafted into the U.S. Army at age 19, he joined the Allied Advisors, and other leaders from both parties to seek
forces that liberated Europe in World War Two, earning his counsel. Including me – whether I was traveling
a Bronze Star for uncovering a Nazi sleeper cell. to China more than 50 years after his transformative
trip, or seeking his counsel as we shaped our
The timeless challenge facing all diplomats, Kissinger approach to artificial intelligence, on which he was
observed, is having to make pivotal decisions thinking, writing, and advising prolifically, up to the
when time is short, information is incomplete, and final weeks of his life.
consequences are unknowable. Unlike the historian,
the academic, or the analyst, Henry wrote, “The Few people were better students of history – and
statesman is permitted only one guess; his mistakes even fewer people did more to shape history – than
are irretrievable.” Henry Kissinger.
19 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
