Participant Biographies

Henry A. Kissinger

Henry A. Kissinger

Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.

Dr. Henry Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. He is also a member of the International Council of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., a Counselor to and Trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an Honorary Governor of the Foreign Policy Association, and an Honor Member of the International Olympic Committee. Among his other activities, Dr. Kissinger served as the 56th Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977. He also served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1975). In July 1983, he was appointed by President Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America until it ceased operation in January 1985. He also served as a President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board member (1984-1990) and was a member of the Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy of the National Security Council and Defense Department (1986-1988). He served as a member of the Defense Policy Board (2001-2016). Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received have been a Bronze Star from the U.S. Army (1945), the Nobel Peace Prize (1973), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian award, 1977), and the Medal of Liberty (given one time to ten foreign-born American leaders, 1986). He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College (1950) and received a Master of Arts (1952) and Ph.D. (1954) from Harvard University.