Quote By Henry Kissinger

High office teaches decision making, not substance. It consumes intellectual capital; it does not create it. Most high officials leave office with the perceptions and insights with which they entered; they learn how to make decisions but not what decisions to make.

Former US Secretary Of State And National Security Advisor

Born: May 27, 1923

Died: November 29, 2023

Henry Kissinger, Nobel laureate and former U.S. Secretary of State, played a key role in shaping 20th-century diplomacy with a realpolitik approach.

Explanation Of The Quote

This quote critiques the nature of high office, suggesting that while it hones decision-making skills, it doesn't necessarily expand one's substantive knowledge. Leaders often leave office with the same understanding they had upon entering, having learned how to navigate decisions rather than deepening their expertise.

More Quotes By Henry Kissinger

Corrupt politicians make the other ten percent look bad.

Henry Kissinger

Because complexity inhibits flexibility, early choices are especially crucial.

Henry Kissinger

Americans have a tendency to believe that when there's a problem there must be a solution.

Henry Kissinger

Facts are rarely self-explanatory; their significance, analysis, and interpretation—at least in the foreign policy world—depend on context and relevance.

Henry Kissinger

The reason that university politics is so vicious is because stakes are so small.

Henry Kissinger

The state is a fragile organization, and the statesman does not have the moral right to risk its survival on ethical restraint.

Henry Kissinger

It is not often that nations learn from the past,even rarer that they draw the correct conclusions from it.

Henry Kissinger

Behind the slogans lay an intellectual vacuum.

Henry Kissinger

Every victory is only the price of admission to a more difficult problem.

Henry Kissinger

A country that demands moral perfection in its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security.