Heine Unveils the Dual Legacy of Henry Kissinger

In a November 30, 2023, interview with BBC, Ambassador Jorge Heine, Research Professor at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Interim Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, shared insights into Henry Kissinger’s complex legacy.

While Kissinger is celebrated for fostering U.S.-China relations, Heine highlighted the stark contrast in Chile, where he is remembered for orchestrating the military coup and supporting the Pinochet dictatorship.

The interview explores Chile’s ongoing struggles, notably the traumatic events shaping its history and constitutional debates influenced by Kissinger’s actions. Heine, drawing on his experience as a former ambassador of Chile to China, emphasized the need to distinguish Kissinger’s role in fostering U.S.-China relations, a diplomatic triumph, from his actions in the Global South, marked by tragic events in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Chile, Argentina, and East Timor. Heine cautioned against conflating Kissinger’s statesmanship in global diplomacy with his questionable role in handling nations in the Global South. He aptly stated,

“It’s important to keep those two things apart, a significant role as a statesman in the north between the great powers and the way he handled countries in the Global South, in which his role is very questionable.”

The full interview is available on BBC here, beginning at approximately 36 minutes in.

Ambassador Jorge Heine is a Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He has served as ambassador of Chile to China (2014-2017), to India (2003-2007), and to South Africa (1994-1999), and as a Cabinet Minister in the Chilean Government. Read more about Ambassador Heine on his faculty profile.