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Former United States secretary of state Henry Kissinger has died aged 100.

He passed away at his home in Connecticut on Wednesday, according to a statement from Kissinger Associates Inc.

The veteran politician had major influence on American foreign policy under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

Born in Germany in 1923, Mr Kissinger fled the Nazi regime with his family as a teenager and settled in the US in 1938.

During eight years as a national security adviser and secretary of state, Dr Kissinger was involved in major foreign policy events including the first example of “shuttle diplomacy” seeking peace in the Middle East, secret negotiations with China to defrost relations between the burgeoning superpowers and the instigation of the Paris peace talks seeking an end to the Vietnam conflict.

Mr Kissinger with President Gerald Ford and Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing in 1975
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Dr Kissinger with President Gerald Ford and Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing in 1975

In 1973 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to negotiate an end to the Vietnam War.

However, Dr Kissinger, along with President Nixon, also bore the brunt of criticism from the US’s allies following the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces in 1975 as the remaining US personnel fled what is now known as Ho Chi Minh City.

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Henry Kissinger meeting President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this year. Pic: AP
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Henry Kissinger meeting President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this year. Pic: AP

His influence over US diplomacy – which continued long after he left office – has not been without controversy, and some activists called for him to be prosecuted for war crimes.

He remained active in politics, even after his 100th birthday in May, attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

In July 2023 he made a surprise visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During his early life, after becoming a naturalised US citizen in 1943, Dr Kissinger joined the US Army the same year and was awarded a Bronze Star.

He would go on to serve with US counter intelligence in occupied Germany.

Dr Kissinger earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees at Harvard University, where he taught international relations for almost 20 years before President Nixon appointed him national security advisor in 1969.

Henry Kissinger with Richard Nixon and Israeli prime minister Golda Meir
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Henry Kissinger with Richard Nixon and Israeli prime minister Golda Meir

He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Nancy Maginnes Kissinger, two children by his first marriage, David and Elizabeth, and five grandchildren.

According to the statement from Kissinger Associates: “He will be interred at a private family service. At a later date, there will be a memorial service in New York City.”

Senator and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney paid tribute to Dr Kissinger on X describing him as a “great one” and saying: “Fortunate indeed is America for his lifetime of diplomacy, wisdom, and love of freedom.”

Winston Lord, former US ambassador to China and Dr Kissinger’s one time special assistant said: “The world has lost a tireless advocate for peace.

“America has lost a towering champion for the national interest. I have lost a cherished friend and mentor.

“Henry blended the European sense of tragedy and the American immigrant’s sense of hope.”

Cindy McCain, the wife of late Senator John McCain said: “Henry Kissinger was ever present in my late husband’s life.

“While John was a POW and in the later years as a Senator & statesman.

“The McCain family will miss his wit, charm, and intelligence terribly.”

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Ted Cruz blasts ‘mafioso’ threats over Jimmy Kimmel suspension

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Ted Cruz blasts 'mafioso' threats over Jimmy Kimmel suspension

American Senator Ted Cruz has broken ranks with fellow US conservatives and
hit out at talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, saying it was “mafioso” behaviour.

Disney-owned ABC has been widely criticised after it pulled the long-standing host of Jimmy Kimmel Live following comments in his show about the alleged gunman charged with right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s murder.

Kimmel implied the suspect was a Maga Republican, despite the man’s mother telling police he had “started to lean more to the left”.

As a result, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr threatened Disney and local broadcasters with investigations and regulatory action if they aired Kimmel’s show – which led to dozens of local TV stations affiliated with ABC pulling it.

US President Donald Trump, who appointed Carr, lauded the decision.

But Mr Cruz criticised the threats as “dangerous as hell”.

“I got to say that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas’,” he said, evoking the Martin Scorsese gangster movie. “That’s right out of
a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here.

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“It would be a shame if something happened to it’.”

Senator Ted Cruz. Pic: AP
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Senator Ted Cruz. Pic: AP

Explainer: What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk?

The senator, a former constitutional lawyer, then adopted a broad mafioso accent to quote Mr Carr’s comments about broadcasters this week: “We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way.”

Mr Trump fired back, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he disagreed with Mr Cruz – one of the most
powerful Republicans in Congress – and calling Mr Carr “an incredible American patriot with courage.”

Demonstrations against his suspension have sprung up. Pic: AP
Image:
Demonstrations against his suspension have sprung up. Pic: AP

The Texas senator’s remarks are a rare example of a prominent member of the president’s own party publicly
criticising the actions of the administration, highlighting deepening concerns over free-speech rights and Mr Trump’s threatened crackdowns.

Prominent Democrats and civil rights groups condemned the Trump administration’s pressure to punish Kimmel and others who speak negatively of the president.

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US talk show titans speak out

Kimmel’s fellow late-night hosts have rallied around him, as did former US president Barack Obama, who wrote on X: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

Barack Obama on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016. Pic: Susan Walsh/AP
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Barack Obama on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016. Pic: Susan Walsh/AP

“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating it.”

Conservative activists had been angered by Kimmel’s comments on his show that they were using the assassination to score “political points”.

Right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was shot dead on 10 September as he took part in a public debate at a college campus in Utah .

Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder, weapon, and obstruction of justice offences.

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US talk show titans come out fighting after Kimmel cancellation

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US talk show titans come out fighting after Kimmel cancellation

US talk show host Stephen Colbert has condemned the cancellation of fellow late-night star Jimmy Kimmel as a “blatant assault on freedom of speech”, as America’s top late night presenters came out fighting.

He used the opening of Thursday night’s edition of his Late Show to address the pulling of Jimmy Kimmel Live over comments made about the assassination of the right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel used his show earlier this week to accuse the Trump administration and its allies of “working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk”, with the president among those to pin it on left-wing extremism.

The move by Disney-owned ABC has been widely criticised, with the network accused of kowtowing to President Donald Trump, who celebrated the decision.

Also airing on Thursday night, Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s Daily Show, appeared in a garish gold set, in parody of Mr Trump’s redesign of the White House, to tell viewers the episode would be “another fun, hilarious, administration-compliant show”.

Stewart, playing the role of an over-the-top, politically obsequious TV host under authoritarian rule, lavished praise on the president and satirised his criticism of US cities and his deployment of the National Guard to fight crime.

“Coming to you tonight from the real […] crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster like no-one’s ever seen before. Someone’s National Guard should invade this place, am I right?” he said.

He then introduced his guest – Maria Ressa, a journalist and author of the book How To Stand Up To A Dictator.

Jon Stewart. Pic: Associated Press
Image:
Jon Stewart. Pic: Associated Press

Over at The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon told his audience he was “not sure what was going on” but that Kimmel is “a decent funny and loving guy and I hope he comes back”.

Fallon then promised viewers that in spite of people being “worried that we won’t keep saying what we want to say or that we will be censored”, he was going to cover the president’s recent trip to the UK “just like I normally would”.

He was then replaced by a voiceover describing Mr Trump as “incredibly handsome” and “making America great again”.

Jimmy Fallon on Thursday's Tonight Show. Pic: The Tonight Show X
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Jimmy Fallon on Thursday’s Tonight Show. Pic: The Tonight Show X

Seth Meyers also joined the fray.

“Donald Trump is on his way back from a trip to the UK,” he said at the top of his show Late Night, “while back here at home, his administration is pursuing a crackdown on free speech… and completely unrelated, I just wanted to say that I have always admired and respected Mr Trump.

“I have always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, and an even better golfer.”

Kimmel’s removal from the show he has hosted for two decades led to criticism that free speech was under attack.

But speaking on his visit to Britain, Donald Trump claimed he was suspended “because he had bad ratings”.

It came after fellow late-night host Colbert saw his programme cancelled earlier this year, which fans claimed was also down to his criticism of Mr Trump, who has since railed against Kimmel, Meyers, and Fallon.

He has posted on Truth Social that they should all be cancelled.

Jimmy Kimmel hosting last year's Oscars. Pic: AP
Image:
Jimmy Kimmel hosting last year’s Oscars. Pic: AP

Figures from both the worlds of entertainment and politics lined up to lament ABC’s removal of Kimmel.

Chat show doyenne David Letterman said people should not be fired just because they don’t “suck up” to what he called “an authoritarian” president.

During an appearance at The Atlantic Festival 2025 in New York on Thursday night, he added: “It’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous.

“I feel bad about this, because we all see where see this is going, correct? It’s managed media.”

Barack Obama on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016. Pic: Susan Walsh/AP
Image:
Barack Obama on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016. Pic: Susan Walsh/AP

Former US president Barack Obama wrote on X: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating it.”

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Trump and Starmer quizzed on Epstein

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Trump and Starmer quizzed on Epstein

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Starmer and Trump meet at Chequers. A news conference with enormous consequences, not just for the US and UK, but for the global world order.

To match the occasion – a special mashup episode of Electoral Dysfunction and Trump100. Mark Stone is joined by Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson.

As Team Trump leaves British soil… is Starmer better off now than he was at the start of the week?

Or is he still on the ropes?

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

Email us on trump100@sky.uk with your comments and questions.

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