Ten Questions with Henry A. Kissinger
Henry Kissinger sits for a portrait on April 12 after the "Conversations with Kissinger" event at Sanders Theatre. Some students protested Kissinger's appearance.
On April 11, Henry A. Kissinger ’50 returned to Harvard for “A Conversation with Henry Kissinger,” a 375th Anniversary event that took place in Sanders Theatre. Kissinger, a German-born Jew who moved to the U.S. in 1938, served as President Richard M. Nixon’s controversial National Security Advisor during the Cold War and the Vietnam War and as Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Gerald R. Ford. Nobel Peace Prize winner, famed diplomat, and former Harvard professor, Kissinger holds 88 years of history and international encounters in his memory.
Fifteen Minutes:How often have you returned to Harvard since you were on the faculty here?
Henry A. Kissinger: I didn’t return to Harvard after I left government for—what is it, since ’77—35 years.
FM: Have you been surprised by any of the changes that you have seen on campus?
HAK: Well, there are a lot more modern buildings.
FM: What connections do you see between the relationships of Harvard and the White House, and the academy and the federal government?
HAK: When I was here first as an undergraduate and as a young professor, people weren’t thinking of going to the White House, they were thinking of doing academic work. And it was only in the Kennedy administration in the sixties that an organic relationship was established between the White House and Harvard, and, in one way or another, it has continued not so much between Harvard and the White House, but between the academic world and the White House.
FM: How did the Kennedys force the connection?
HAK: Well, Kennedy first put professors into administrative positions and executive positions, and not just advisory positions. And then almost every administration has created advisory boards to work with the administration. I think in almost every administration now there are two or three academics at the level of assistant secretary and higher.
FM: As a statesmen, have any specific situations of which you’ve been part challenged your views of morality?
HAK: You cannot go through life without coming up against situations where you have to ask yourself, “What is the right thing to do?” It’s hard if it’s right in the abstract, but it is an essential part of life.
