John Kerry — LLMpedia

John Kerry
Name	John Kerry
Caption	Official portrait, 2013
Office	68th United States Secretary of State
President	Barack Obama
Term start	February 1, 2013
Term end	January 20, 2017
Predecessor	Hillary Clinton
Successor	Rex Tillerson
Office1	United States Senator from Massachusetts
Term start1	January 2, 1985
Term end1	February 1, 2013
Predecessor1	Paul Tsongas
Successor1	Mo Cowan
Office2	64th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
Term start2	January 6, 1983
Term end2	January 2, 1985
Governor2	Michael Dukakis
Predecessor2	Thomas P. O'Neill III
Successor2	Evelyn Murphy
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Julia Thorne (m. 1970; div. 1988), Teresa Heinz (m. 1995)
Alma mater	Yale University (BA), Boston College (JD)
Branch	United States Navy
Serviceyears	1966–1978
Rank	Lieutenant (junior grade)
Unit	Naval Reserve
Battles	Vietnam War
Awards	Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart (3)

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John Kerry is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 68th United States Secretary of State under President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts for nearly three decades and was the Democratic nominee in the 2004 presidential election. Throughout his career, Kerry has been a prominent figure in American foreign policy, climate diplomacy, and legislative affairs.

Early life and education

He was born in Aurora, Colorado, at Fitzsimons Army Hospital and spent his early childhood in the Washington, D.C. area before his family moved to Massachusetts. His father, Richard Kerry, was a Foreign Service Officer and his mother, Rosemary Forbes Kerry, was a member of the wealthy Forbes family. He attended the Fessenden School and later the elite St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. For his undergraduate studies, he enrolled at Yale University, where he majored in political science, became a member of the Skull and Bones society, and graduated in 1966. He later earned a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School in 1976.

After graduating from Yale University, he enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve and requested duty in South Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, he served as a Swift Boat officer on the Mekong Delta, receiving a Silver Star, a Bronze Star Medal, and three Purple Hearts for wounds received in combat. Upon his return, he became a prominent anti-war activist, co-founding the Vietnam Veterans of America and delivering powerful testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971. He worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Middlesex County under John J. Droney before entering electoral politics.

He was first elected to the United States Senate in 1984, defeating Republican Ray Shamie to succeed retiring Senator Paul Tsongas. During his tenure, which lasted from 1985 to 2013, he served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Small Business Committee. He played key roles in investigations like the Iran–Contra affair probe, normalization of relations with Vietnam, and efforts on climate change, including co-sponsoring failed cap-and-trade legislation. He was also the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 2004.

He secured the Democratic presidential nomination after a primary contest that included rivals like Howard Dean and John Edwards, whom he selected as his running mate. The general election against incumbent President George W. Bush was intensely focused on national security following the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War. A major point of controversy involved attacks by the group Swift Vets and POWs for Truth on his military record. He narrowly lost the election, with Electoral College results of 286 for Bush to 251 for his ticket, despite winning the popular vote in states like California and New York.

Appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate, he served as United States Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017. His tenure was dominated by major diplomatic initiatives, including negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran nuclear deal) and the Paris Agreement on climate change. He also led diplomacy during the Russian annexation of Crimea, the Syrian civil war, and the reopening of diplomatic relations with Cuba. He set a record for travel, visiting 91 countries to advance the administration's foreign policy agenda.

After leaving the Obama administration, he remained active in climate advocacy, founding the organization World War Zero. In 2021, President Joe Biden appointed him as the first-ever United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, a cabinet-level position where he represented the United States in international forums like the United Nations Climate Change conference. He has continued to be a vocal commentator on foreign policy, contributing to discussions on issues ranging from the Iran nuclear deal to the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Category:American secretaries of state Category:United States senators from Massachusetts Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War