Opinion | Henry A. Kissinger, 1923-2023

At a dinner recently with friends, Henry Kissinger was, at the invitation of his host as usual, holding forth on various world crises when he was asked what gave him reason for optimism. He replied that he had confidence in the wisdom of the American people, though at the current moment he worried about a dearth of U.S. leadership.

The comment reflected Kissinger’s abiding faith in America tempered with political realism and his belief in the essential role of leaders in guiding nations. The U.S. offered him refuge from Nazi Germany as a child and provided the opportunity to become one of its greatest statesmen. Henry Alfred Kissinger, who died Wednesday at age 100, leaves a legacy of accomplishment and strategic insight about global politics that few have matched.