Henry A. Kissinger Leader Quotations

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been. The public does not fully understand the world into which it is going. Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision. Those leaders who do not are ultimately judged failures, even though they may be popular at the moment.

Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision.

Leaders are responsible not for running public opinion polls but for the consequences of their actions.

Most foreign policies that history has marked highly, in whatever country, have been originated by leaders who were opposed by experts.

You know, this is a very strange phenomenon. I keep reading that in American newspapers, and I keep reading extensive speculations. I meet with the Chinese leaders periodically, and while I don't say they've endorsed the missile shield, it has not been in the forefront of their discussions.

The convictions that leaders have formed before reaching high office are the intellectual capital they will consume as long as they continue in office.

What political leaders decide, intelligence services tend to seek to justify.

I also do not believe that the United States can let itself be driven into a political role by escalating terrorism, and therefore, the leaders of the Arab world and Arafat should do their utmost to put an end to this and then the United States should do its utmost to produce a political solution.

Statesman create; ordinary leaders consume. The ordinary leader is satisfied with ameliorating the environment, not transforming it; a statesman must be a visionary and an educator.