This file photo taken on October 24 shows former US Secretary of State Dr. Henry A. Kissinger speaking at the annual Gala Dinner of the National Committee on US-China Relations in New York. Henry Kissinger passed away at 100 on Wednesday. XINHUA/VNA Photo

WASHINGTON Henry Kissinger, the relentlessly ambitious US diplomat whose unapologetic promotion of raw American power helped shape the post-World War II world, died on Wednesday, his consulting firm said. He was 100.

Kissinger, arguably the most identifiable secretary of state in modern times, died at his home in Connecticut, announced Kissinger Associates, through which the late diplomat grew wealthy helping businesses for decades after his government career.

It said that Kissinger's family would hold a private funeral, with a memorial service to take place later in New York, where Kissinger grew up after his Jewish family fled Nazi Germany.

The statement did not provide a cause of death. Kissinger had remained active even as a centenarian, traveling to China in July to meet President Xi Jinping.

China was one of Kissinger's most lasting legacies. Hoping to shake up the Cold War fight against the Soviet Union, Kissinger secretly reached out to Beijing, culminating in a historic 1972 visit by president Richard Nixon and later the US establishment of relations with the country, which has soared into the world's second largest economy and growing competitor with Washington.

Kissinger at home also enjoyed deference across the political mainstream, with incumbent Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a member of the rival Democratic Party, attending his 100th birthday party in New York.

"America has lost one of the most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs with the passing of Henry Kissinger," former president George W. Bush, a Republican, said in a statement.

Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiations to end the war in Việt Nam, even though the conflict did not immediately end.

After the Watergate scandal brought down Nixon, Kissinger served under his successor, Gerald Ford. In an unprecedented arrangement reflecting his influence, Kissinger served simultaneously as secretary of state -- the country's top diplomat -- and national security advisor, the president's right-hand aide.

While Kissinger's intellectual gifts were begrudgingly acknowledged even by his critics, he remains deeply controversial for his ruthless philosophy of realpolitik -- the cold calculation that nations pursue their own interests through power.

- Iconic diplomat -

Kissinger won plaudits across the US political spectrum after the 1973 Yom Kippur War with his intensive negotiations between Israel and Arab states that came to define shuttle diplomacy.

He succeeded in splitting Arab powers from their Soviet patron, securing the role of the United States as the primary mediator and security guarantor in the region.

With his bookishly thick glasses and his deep monotone voice that never lost a touch of his native German, the immigrant academic turned ultimate insider became instantly recognizable and even an unlikely sex symbol, hobnobbing with famous women. Kissinger spoke of his reputation with a classic realpolitik answer, "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."

He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years Nancy, two children from a previous marriage and five grandchildren. AFP