LONDON – Late US diplomat Henry Kissinger was a “great statesman” who will be “greatly missed,” UK foreign minister David Cameron said on Thursday, while fellow former prime minister Tony Blair paid tribute to “an artist” of diplomacy.
“Most saddened to hear that Henry Kissinger has passed away,” Cameron wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“He was a great statesman and a deeply respected diplomat who will be greatly missed on the world stage.”
The former prime minister said he had met Kissinger “a few months ago”, when the pair discussed Iran, Russia and the war in Ukraine.
“Even at 100, his wisdom and thoughtfulness shone through,” Cameron added.
Kissinger, whose unapologetic promotion of raw American power helped shape the post-World War II world, died on Wednesday aged 100.
Blair, another controversial world figure because of his backing for the US-led war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, called Kissinger “an artist” of diplomacy.
“There is no one like Henry Kissinger,” he said.
“I was in awe of him. If it is possible for diplomacy, at its highest level, to be a form of art, Henry was an artist.”
Blair defended Kissinger’s approach to world affairs.
“Like anyone who has confronted the most difficult problems of international politics, he was criticised at times, even denounced,” he said.
“But I believe he was always motivated not from a coarse ‘realpolitik’ but from a genuine love of the free world and the need to protect it.”
He added: “Not once did he ever stop thinking about the future, reflecting on it, and proffering wisdom upon it, most recently on the technology revolution.”