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Henry (Heinz) Alfred Kissinger (born May 27, 1923) is a German-born American diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner who played an important part in foreign affairs through the positions he held in several Republican administrations between 1969 and 1977. Kissinger is a controversial figure due to many of the foreign policy decisions he was involved with.1 Personal background
Kissinger was born in Fürth, Germany as Heinz Alfred Kissinger into a family of Jewish religion. In 1938, fleeing Adolf Hitler's persecution his family moved to New York City. Kissinger was naturalizedNaturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. Naturalization is also, in biology, the process when foreign or cultivated plants have spread into the wild, where t a U.S. citizen on June 19June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 195 days remaining. Events 1306 Forces of Earl of Pembroke defeat Bruce's Scottish army at the Battle of Methven 1846 First baseball game under recognizable modern, 19431943 is the common year starting on Friday. Events January January 4 End of term for Culbert Olson, 29th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Earl Warren. January 11 The United States and United Kingdom give up territorial rights in China. January 1.
He spent his high-school years in the Washington Heights section of upper ManhattanFor other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation . Manhattan is the name of an island alongside the lower Hudson River and also of one of the five boroughs that form the City of New York. The borough is coterminous with New York County and includes the Islan but never lost his pronounced German accent. Kissinger attended George Washington High School at night and worked in a shaving-brush factory during the day. While attending City College of New YorkCity College of New York was originally founded as the Free Academy of the City of New York in 1847. It was subsequently named the College of the City of New York but that name was later transferred to the complex of the municipally-owned colleges in New, in 19431943 is the common year starting on Friday. Events January January 4 End of term for Culbert Olson, 29th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Earl Warren. January 11 The United States and United Kingdom give up territorial rights in China. January 1, he was drafted into the army and became a German interpreter for the 970th Counter-intelligence Corps.
Henry Kissinger received his BA degree summa cum laude at Harvard College in 1950. Urban legend has it Kissinger is the only person to receive a perfect grade point average from Harvard, but in fact he received one 'B' in his senior year, while others have gotten perfect GPAs, though it is exceptionally rare. He received his MA and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard University in 1952 and 1954, respectively. His doctoral dissertation was titled A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace 1812–22. It is often said that his Ph.D. dissertation is the longest among Harvard Ph.D. dissertations.
Politically ambitious, he cultivated relations with Nelson Rockefeller. When, in 1968, it became clear that Richard Nixon would be elected president, Kissinger became an advisor to Nixon.
In 1998 Kissinger became a Citizen of Honour of his hometown Fürth. During his whole life he has been a supporter of the football club Spielvereinigung Fürth . In 2004, he visited his hometown again.
