Former United States secretary of state Henry Kissinger has died at home in Connecticut aged 100, Paralel.Az reports citing ABC News.

He served as secretary of state and national security advisor under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

His 1973 Peace Prize — awarded jointly to North Vietnam's Lê Đức Thọ, who would decline it — was one of the most controversial ever.

Two members of the Nobel committee resigned over the selection and questions arose about the US secret bombing of Cambodia.

Mr Kissinger had been active past his centenary, attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

In July 2023 he made a surprise visit to Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping.

In the 1970s, he had a hand in many of the epoch-changing global events of the decade while serving as secretary of state under Republican president Richard Nixon.

The German-born Jewish refugee's efforts led to the diplomatic opening of China, landmark US-Soviet arms control talks, expanded ties between Israel and its Arab neighbours and the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam.

Mr Kissinger's reign as the prime architect of US foreign policy waned with Nixon's resignation in 1974.

Still, he continued to be a diplomatic force under president Gerald Ford and to offer strong opinions throughout the rest of his life.