Henry Kissinger was born in Fuerth, Germany, in 1923 and emigrated to the United States with his family when he was fifteen. He was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1973, together with the Vietnamese Le Duc Tho, “for his efforts in achieving a peace treaty between South and North Vietnam.”

Kissinger, who was advisor to American presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and Secretary of State in the Nixon and Ford administrations, contributed to the thawing of relations between the Great Powers at the height of the Cold War, and played a role in the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

In 1974-1975, Kissinger worked unceasingly to open the Middle East peace process. His `shuttle diplomacy’ between the region’s capitals led to the disengagement of forces after the Yom Kippur War and brought about the interim agreements between Egypt and Israel, which later contributed to the signing of a full peace treaty between the two countries.