Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, one of the most influential statesmen of the 20th century, has died at age 100.

Kissinger served as secretary of state under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from 1969 to 1977. While in the position, he played a central role in opening up relations with China, beginning detente with the Soviet Union, ending the war in Vietnam, assisting Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, navigating through the OPEC oil embargo, and assisting authoritarian regimes in crushing communist movements worldwide.

Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut, according to Reuters.

"International stateman, lifelong scholar, skilled negotiator and architect of a lasting era of peace, stability, prosperity and global order — Dr. Kissinger’s impact on generations of citizens, from the U.S. to China, cannot be minimized," his website stated in summarizing his legacy.

Hailed by some as a foreign policy savant and decried by others as a power-hungry political operative, the Nobel Peace Prize winner leaves behind a complicated legacy. Born in Furth, Germany, his family fled Nazi persecution in 1938 for the United States, where Kissinger became a colossus in the world of international diplomacy.