When Henry Kissinger died in November 2023 at the age of 100, there was a large volume of public commentary on his legacy and what his many decades in the inner circle of US foreign policy says about the nation at large. He was the last major figure of his kind to have witnessed firsthand the transformation of the United States into a global power, and none had such an influence over its conduct over so long a period of time as Kissinger did. Many people therefore view his passing as the end of an era, with many speculating that the United States would never again hold the degree of global power it had during Kissinger’s time in government.

His ascent from a Jewish childhood in Nazi Germany to the pinnacle of American government and high society is, furthermore, a compelling success story, and with his Bavarian accent (which seemed to thicken with age), many considered him to have a particular insight into American politics as a non-American. As the US relationship with China grew thicker and more complicated, Kissinger was that rare voice who could speak credibly about each country to the other, having been pivotal in Nixon’s “opening” to China from 1971 to 1972.