Joseph S. Nye photo:VCG

Harvard University's distinguished service professor, emeritus and former dean of the Kennedy School of Government (HKS) Joseph S. Nye Jr. died at 88 on Tuesday. HKS Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein announced Nye's death in an email to faculty, staff and students Wednesday afternoon, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Nye, who served as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs under former US president Bill Clinton, is also known for coining the term "soft power" in the 1980s to describe a country's non-military sway on the world stage, according to Xinhua.

Nye first joined the Harvard faculty in 1964 after receiving his PhD in Government. He served as HKS dean from 1995 to 2004.

Global Times