Henry Kissinger died at 100 years old

Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state and national security adviser who helped open up relations with China, usher in a detente with the Soviet Union and end America’s war in Vietnam, has died aged 100.

Kissinger’s death at his home in Connecticut was confirmed by Kissinger Associates, his consultancy, which described him as a “respected American scholar and statesman” in a statement last night.

His stints in government came during the 1970s, when he served Republican presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, at a time when cold war rivalries were evolving and economic tensions were consuming US foreign relations.