Henry Kissinger—revered and reviled—savored the hot soup of conflict.

Yet in his century of celebrated and criticized years of orchestrating foreign policy to contain Russia and what he avidly argued were America’s other belligerents, Kissinger’s first face-to-face with absolute power perhaps best illustrates his guarantee that “it’s not a matter of what is true that counts, but a matter of what is perceived to be true.”

The death of Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state and one of most divisive political figures in U.S. history, brought a mixture of tributes and contempt for his legacy from people around the world.

Kissinger, who was 100, died at his home in Connecticut, his consulting firm, Kissinger Associates Inc., confirmed. A public memorial service will be held in New York at a date yet to be announced.

At a dinner recently with friends, Henry Kissinger was, at the invitation of his host as usual, holding forth on various world crises when he was asked what gave him reason for optimism. He replied that he had confidence in the wisdom of the American people, though at the current moment he worried about a dearth of U.S. leadership.

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.

Former presidential adviser Henry Kissinger has died, according to a statement posted on his website, bringing to a close one of the most polarizing and influential diplomatic lives in U.S. history.

He died Wednesday at his home in Connecticut, said a statement by his consulting firm. He was 100 years old.