Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died. He was 100.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the diplomat with the thick glasses and gravelly voice who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China, died Wednesday, his consulting firm said. He was 100.
With his gruff yet commanding presence and behind-the-scenes manipulation of power, Kissinger exerted uncommon influence on global affairs under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, earning both vilification and the Nobel Peace Prize. Decades later, his name still provoked impassioned debate over foreign policy landmarks long past.
Kissinger’s power grew during the turmoil of Watergate, when the politically attuned diplomat assumed a role akin to co-president to the weakened Nixon.
“No doubt my vanity was piqued,” Kissinger later wrote of his expanding influence. “But the dominant emotion was a premonition of catastrophe.”
It said, “Among the update’s findings, slow global economic growth impacts demand for Africa’s exports, a trend projected to persist for much longer than anticipated. It also stressed that the projected economic slowdown in advanced economies and lacklustre growth in China relative to historical trends have weighed down global growth. This has placed additional strain on African countries, especially those dependent on the Chinese market for commodity exports.”
The statement explained that more robust policy support in China could bolster global economic recovery and trigger positive spillovers to African countries for which China remains a major trading partner.
It said these factors could help moderate adverse risks to the economic outlook.
On the downside, the 2023 MEO update observed that climate shocks, deepening geo-political tensions in the Middle East, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to more profound disruptions in global trade and foreign investment flows.
“This can trigger another round of prolonged tightening of global financial conditions, further exerting depreciation pressure on domestic currencies. It can increase debt-service costs, exacerbate the increase in debt-service costs and compound the continent’s funding squeeze,” it said.
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