Rest in Peace Henry Kissinger

We really didn’t have any preconceived idea of him beyond our own basic research. He was a world leading statesman with an unmatched knowledge of Geopolitics and a substantial place in recent world history. We knew about the controversies and the fact that he didn’t suffer fools gladly. Of course we were slightly nervous.

In the room before the event were Ruby Osman and Marc McGonagle from Tony Blair Institute for Global Change who had organised the filming for the Future Of Britain event and my colleagues Peter and Nicole. We all had an interest in world politics and hailed from places as diverse as Sydney and Belfast and Cyprus.

When he entered the room he was quietly spoken and polite. He was keen to make sure we had everything we needed to be ready. He had clearly prepared for the interview and was focused on the task in hand.

Within a minute we had forgotten that at 100 years it must be a feat to remember events at all, let alone give new insights and thoughts on them. We were all enthralled by his calm explanation of past present and future US, European and UK relationships with China. We finished the interview exactly on time and got exactly what we hoped.

At the end after he checked back every question and answer mentally to make sure he had said everything, I mentioned that I admired his love of football and that he had brought Pele to the US – a great achievement. He then set off on an analysis of the current state of football, of his beloved team Furth. He asked about my favourite team – the not so well known QPR and to my astonishment he sympathised with our recent struggles – he even knew we had recently lost our manager.

So my recollection of Henry Kissinger was not as a statesman, or as a controversial figure, nor as an impressive 100 year old. My memory is of someone who kept the capacity for joy throughout an incredible life. Someone whose dreams of being a footballer were thwarted by the rise of the Nazis in his homeland but who refused to be beaten down. Someone who was kind, thoughtful and genuinely interested in everyone he met, famous or not.