America’s highest profile diplomat Henry Kissinger who courted world leaders for decades was also a twice-married father-of-two who leaves behind widow Nancy and children Elizabeth and David

Henry Kissinger, America’s most prominent diplomat who courted world leaders for decades, was also a twice-married father of two who left behind his widow Nancy and two children David and Elizabeth from his first marriage to Ann Fleisher.

The former secretary of state and titan of American politics died Wednesday at the age of 100 at the home he shared with Nancy (née Maginnes) in Connecticut.

Kissinger was 50 when he married Nancy in 1974 in Arlington, Virginia, meaning he spent almost half his life with her.

The couple met at Harvard when he was a professor there and she was a student. They both went to work for Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York before Kissinger joined the Nixon administration in 1969.

But the marriage that spanned his last fifty years was not his first.

He first married Ann Fleischer, a childhood sweetheart, in 1949 – less than four years after he returned from fighting in Germany in World War II.

Together they had two children: David, the president of the television company Conaco, which is owned by entertainer and TV host Conan O’Brien, and Elizabeth, who has largely remained out of the public eye.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger with his children Elizabeth (14) and David (12) on March 24, 1974 in Bonn. On his way to summits in Moscow, he stopped in Bonn to meet Federal Chancellor Brandt and Federal Minister Scheel at Schloss Gymnich

Fleischer was born in 1925 and, like Kissinger, started his life in Fürth, Germany.

Kissinger fled the Bavarian city for the United States at the age of 15 during the rise of Nazi Germany, and while little is known about Ms. Fleischer, she and her family are believed to have done the same.

The couple dated in high school and kept in touch while Kissinger served in the Army, fighting the Nazis in Germany.

The couple had two children together – Elizabeth and David – but divorced in 1964 after about 15 years of marriage.

The reason for the breakup of Kissinger’s first marriage is unknown, but it followed reports of infidelity.

In 1955 he met the Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann at a symposium at Harvard, and the pair had a romantic relationship that lasted several years.

In the aftermath of his divorce, Kissinger’s political value rose dramatically.

After a distinguished career on the faculty of Harvard University, Kissinger joined Richard Nixon’s administration in 1969 as national security adviser, a job he retained after Nixon resigned and was succeeded as president by Gerald Ford.

He also served as Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford.

During that time, he was involved in many groundbreaking global events of the 1970s, including the Vietnam War, China’s diplomatic opening, landmark arms control talks between the US and the Soviet Union, and the expanded ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

With his political rise he also became somewhat of a famous statesman.

Henry Kissinger and his wife Nancy watch a football game in Washington, April 1974

President George W. Bush (center) poses with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (left) and his wife Nancy upon arrival at Kissinger’s home on April 25, 2008

Amid his high-profile diplomacy, he became the ‘sex symbol of the Nixon administration’. Kissinger had a string of glamorous celebrity girlfriends in his younger years, including journalist Diane Sawyer and actress Candice Bergen.

He was the subject of gushing magazine profiles, was forced to deny an affair with glamorous actress Jill St. John, a Bond girl in Diamonds Are Forever, and was pictured with beauties like Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner and Raquel Welch.

Kissinger even earned the nickname “the secret swinger” after a Washington Post reporter boldly asked him at a party if he was a swinger.

He later explained, “I told her, ‘I can’t admit I’m a swinger without getting in trouble. I can’t admit I’m not a swinger, so why not say I’m a secret swinger?”

The political giant also befriended Hugh Hefner – earning him another nickname: ‘Playboy of the West Wing’ – who gave him a subscription to his magazine after hearing that Kissinger had come to a party with an envelope full of secret information, but everyone said it was so. a copy of Playboy instead.

He even once declared that “power is the greatest aphrodisiac,” which may have had some truth in it. A poll of Playboy bunnies found him at the top of the list of men they would ‘most want to date’. 1974: Miss Universe contestants voted him ‘the greatest man in the world’.

But his ‘swinging’ days soon came to an end.

In March 1974, he married Nancy Maginnes, a New York socialite.

The tall, blonde Nancy was then 39 years old and was recommended to Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1964 by Kissinger, then a professor at Harvard.

Her first job was as a Kissinger investigator on a Rockefeller task force.

According to a New York Times report on the wedding, the wedding was only announced by then-former Governor Rockefeller, who interrupted a speech he was giving in Chicago.

“I have news for you,” he said. “Kissinger is marrying Nancy Maginnes today.”

While Kissinger had joined the Nixon administration, Nancy was still working for Rockefeller. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed the marriage.

Kissinger’s son David (pictured) is the president of the television company Conaco, which is owned by entertainer and TV host Conan O’Brien

Film producer Carolyn Pfeiffer (left) and David Kissinger (son of Henry Kissinger) attend the book launch party for Carolyn Pfeiffer’s ‘Chasing The Panther: Adventures & Misadventures Of A Cinematic Life’ on September 22, 2023

‘Mrs. Albert Bristol Maginnes announces the marriage of her daughter, Nancy Sharon, to Henry Alfred Kissinger in Arlington, Virginia, on March 30, 1974,” the report said. “The couple left for a honeymoon in Acapulco immediately after the ceremony.”

Kissinger died Wednesday at their home in Kent, Connecticut.

In announcing his death, Kissinger Associates said in the statement that Kissinger “will be buried during a private family service. A memorial service will be held in New York City at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be considered.”