US-ASEAN Business Council Offers its Condolences on the Passing of Henry A. Kissinger, 56th U.S. Secretary of State

US-ASEAN Business Council Offers its Condolences on the Passing of Henry A. Kissinger, 56th U.S. Secretary of State
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​(Washington D.C.) The Board of Directors, members, and staff of the US-ASEAN Business Council convey their deep condolences to the Kissinger family, the American people, and friends in ASEAN and beyond, on the passing of the 56th U.S. Secretary of State and 8th U.S. National Security Advisor, Dr. Henry Alfred Kissinger. ​ ​
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​Dr. Henry A. Kissinger was the first person to serve as both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, and in his decades of service to the American people, demonstrated leadership and skillful diplomacy, laying the groundwork for the first visit by a U.S. President to China, by former President Richard Nixon, which Nixon dubbed the “week that changed the world.” Dr. Kissinger skillfully managed opening relations with China and pacing relations with the Soviet Union. ​ ​
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​At the Council’s 25th Anniversary Gala in 2009, the Council had the great honor of having Dr. Kissinger make remarks, introducing the recipient of the Council’s first Lifetime Achievement Award, Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. During his speech, he called the late Minister Mentor “a seminal figure for us all,” and one from whom he said he had learned more than from anybody else, and who had made himself an “an indispensable friend of the US not primarily by the power he represented but by the quality of his thinking.” ​
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​Kissinger’s time as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State changed the region. This is especially true when he helped to negotiate the Paris Peace Accords, ending American involvement in the Vietnam War. ​ ​
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​"I am saddened by the news of Dr. Kissinger's passing. His realpolitik diplomacy profoundly shaped U.S. foreign policy, and his strategic acumen, coupled with a steadfast commitment to global cooperation, has left an indelible mark on international relations," said Ambassador Ted Osius, President & CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council. "As a statesman and diplomat, his legacy will continue to influence future generations. The world has indeed lost a true architect of modern diplomacy."