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Henry Alfred Kissinger (1923 – November 29, 2023) was a German-born American diplomat, political scientist, geopolitical consultant, and foreign policy advisor who served as National Security Advisor (1969–1975) and U.S. Secretary of State (1973–1977) under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, he was an influential architect of détente with the Soviet Union and a leading proponent of realpolitik, and he played controversial roles in U.S. policy on Vietnam, Chile, and other international matters. Kissinger was a longtime member of the Council on Foreign Relations; after leaving government he co-founded the global consulting firm Kissinger Associates and maintained extensive international ties with figures such as Ehud Barak and John Kerry.