HENRY Kissinger’s son David penned a heartwarming tribute to his father ahead of his 100th birthday back in May.
The former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor who served under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford died on November 29, 2023.
Kissinger who passed away at home in Kent, Connecticut, is survived by his wife Nancy, his two children Elizabeth and David whom he shared with his first wife Ann Fleischer, and five grandchildren.
David penned a letter in the Washington Post paying tribute to Kissinger’s monumental achievements.
The milestone had “an air of inevitability for anyone familiar with his force of character,” he wrote.
“Not only has he outlived most of his peers, eminent detractors, and students, but he has also remained indefatigably active throughout his 90s.”
However, he joked how it was also a “miraculous” achievement given his father’s love for bratwurst, Wiener schnitzel, and watching sports rather than participating.
In addition to this, his father led a stressful life that saw him and his family flee Nazi rule in 1938 before he then joined the US Army and helped liberate the Ahlem concentration camp.
Kissinger lost 13 members of his family in the Holocaust along with “countless friends,” his son explained, and he “witnessed the depths to which mankind can sink.”
This deep sense of pain and loss was still present when Kissinger turned 100 which saw him return to his birthplace of Fürth, Germany, to lay a wreath for his grandfather who did not escape.
David credited his father’s longevity with his “unquenchable curiosity” that saw him stay “dynamically engaged with the world.”
“His mind is a heat-seeking weapon that identifies and grapples with the existential challenges of the day,” he said.
“I know that no son can be truly objective about his father’s legacy, but I am proud of my father’s efforts to anchor statecraft with consistent principles and an awareness of historical reality.
“This is the mission he has pursued for the better part of a century, using his rare brain and unflagging energy to serve the country that saved his family and launched him on a journey beyond his wildest dreams.”
No further details have been given surrounding the cause of Kissinger’s death as his family privately mourn their loss.
Meanwhile, tributes have been pouring in for the late political titan with former president George Bush saying in a statement: “America has lost one of the most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs with the passing of Henry Kissinger.”
