WASHINGTON, US – Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died at the age of 100.

He served as America’s top diplomat and national security adviser during the Nixon and Ford administrations.

In a statement, Kissinger Associates, a political consulting firm he founded, said the German-born former diplomat died at his home in Connecticut.

During his decades long career, Kissinger played a pivotal, and sometimes polarising, role in US foreign policy.

The statement from Kissinger Associates did not give a cause of death.

Following his death, former US President George W Bush said the US had “lost one of the most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs”.

New York City’s former mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said Kissinger was “endlessly generous with the wisdom gained over the course of an extraordinary life”.

Born in Bavaria in 1923, the school teacher’s son first came to the US in 1938 when his family fled Nazi Germany.

He became a US citizen in 1943 and went on to serve three years in the US Army and later in the Counter Intelligence Corps.

After earning bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees, he taught international relations at Harvard.

In 1969, then-President Richard Nixon appointed him National Security Adviser, a position which gave him enormous influence over US foreign policy.

As secretary of state during the Nixon administration – and later under President Gerald Ford – Kissinger led diplomatic efforts towards China, helped negotiate an end to the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and its neighbours and was instrumental in the Paris Peace Accords that ended the Vietnam War.

Over the years, however, Kissinger was also subject to scathing criticism from those who accused him of putting rivalry with the Soviet Union over human rights and supporting repressive regimes across the world, including Augusto Pinochet’s regime in Chile.

Kissinger, however, was dismissive of this criticism.

“That’s a reflection of their ignorance,” he told CBS in an interview shortly before his 100th birthday.

In 1973, he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize alongside North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho, who refused to accept.

The controversial award led to two members of the Nobel committee resigning.

While Kissinger left government service in 1977, he continued to be a prolific commentator on public affairs. His counsel was often sought by US presidents and lawmakers.

He also served on the boards of various companies and was a fixture of foreign policy and security forums, as well as penning 21 books.

Kissinger turned 100 years old in May and continued to be active even late in life, including a surprise visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in July.

During an interview with ABC on a book tour in July 2022 – when he was 99 – Kissinger was asked whether he would take back any of his decisions in life.

“I’ve been thinking about these problems all my life. It’s my hobby as well as my occupation,” he said. “And so, the recommendations I made were the best of which I was then capable.”

He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, as well as by two children – Elizabeth and David – from a previous marriage and five grandchildren.