John (Forbes) Kerry - Family history and childhood years, Military service (1966–1970), Anti-war activism (1970

US politician, born in Denver, Colorado, USA. He studied at Yale University, and then served with the US Navy in the Vietnam War, winning several awards for bravery in combat. He embarked on a career in law and worked as a prosecutor in Massachusetts before going into politics. In 1982 he was voted lieutenant governor for Massachusetts, and became senator in 1984, being successfully re-elected for a fourth term in 2002. In 2004 he secured the Democrat nomination for the US presidential election but was defeated by incumbent President George W Bush in a closely fought contest in November that year.

John Kerry

Junior Senator, Massachusetts
Term of office: 1985–Present
Political party:	Democratic
Preceded by:	Paul Tsongas
Succeeded by:	Incumbent (2009)
Born:	December 11, 1943 Aurora, Colorado
Spouse:	(1) Julia Thorne (divorced) (2) Teresa Heinz Kerry
Religion:	Roman Catholic

John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts.

Family history and childhood years

John Kerry was born in Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, outside Denver, where his father, Richard Kerry, a World War II Army Air Corps test pilot, had been undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. Kerry's family returned to their home state of Massachusetts two months after his birth.

Family background

Kerry is the third child of Richard John Kerry and Rosemary Forbes Kerry.

Although the extended family enjoyed a great fortune, Kerry's parents themselves were upper-middle class; a wealthy great aunt paid for Kerry to attend elite schools in Europe and New England.

Kerry spent his summers at the Forbes family estate in France, and there, he enjoyed a more opulent lifestyle than he had previously known in Massachusetts. While living in the U.S., Kerry spent several summers at the Forbes family's estates on Naushon Island off Cape Cod.

Kerry's maternal grandfather, James Grant Forbes, was born in Shanghai, China, where the family accumulated a fortune in opium and China trade. Through her, John Kerry is distantly related to four U.S. Presidents and to various royals in Europe.

Kerry's paternal grandfather, Frederick A.

Kerry's father, Richard Kerry, was born on July 28, 1915, in Massachusetts.

In 1937, Richard Kerry met Rosemary Forbes, a member of the wealthy Forbes family.

Childhood years

Kerry has said that his first memory is from when he was three years old, of holding his crying mother's hand while they walked through the broken glass and rubble of her childhood home in Saint-Briac, France.

While his father was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, Kerry was sent to Massachusetts to attend boarding school.

Despite having difficulty fitting in, Kerry made friends and developed his interests.

In 1959, Kerry founded the John Winant Society at St. Paul's to debate the issues of the day; In November 1960, Kerry gave his first political speech, in favor of John F.

Yale University (1962–1966)

In 1962, Kerry entered Yale University, majoring in political science.

In his sophomore year, Kerry became president of the Yale Political Union.

Under the guidance of the speaking coach and history professor Rollin Osterweis, Kerry won many debates against other college students from across the nation.

Over four years, Kerry maintained a 76 grade average and received an 81 average in his senior year.

In 1962, Kerry was a volunteer for Edward Kennedy's first Senatorial campaign. It was there that Kerry met President John Fitzgerald Kennedy for the first time.

According to Kerry, when he told the president he was about to enter Yale University, Kennedy grimaced because he had gone to rival Harvard University. You know I'm a Yale man too now.'" According to Kerry, "The President uttered that famous comment about how he had the best of two worlds now: a Harvard education and Yale degree," in reference to the honorary degree he had received from Yale a few months earlier. Later that day, a White House photographer snapped a photo of Kerry sailing with Kennedy and his family in Narragansett Bay.

Military service (1966–1970)

When he approached his draft board for permission to study for a year in Paris, the draft board refused and Kerry decided to enlist in the Navy. Kerry served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1970. Kerry's military record has received considerable praise and criticism during his political career, especially during his unsuccessful 2004 bid for the presidency.

Commission, training, and tour of duty on the USS Gridley

On February 18, 1966, Kerry enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve. After completing sixteen weeks of Officer Candidate School at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Newport, Rhode Island, Kerry received his officer's commission on December 16. In 2005, Kerry partially released his military and medical records to 3 reporters but has not released a full unredacted copy.

Kerry's first abbreviated tour of duty was as an ensign on the guided missile frigate USS Gridley. The next day, Kerry requested duty in Vietnam, listing as his first preference a position as the commander of a Fast Patrol Craft (PCF), also known as a "Swift boat." (Kerry's second choice was to be an officer in a river patrol boat, or "PBR", squadron.) "I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry said in a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. Ten days after returning, on June 16, Kerry was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, junior grade.

Tour of duty

On November 17, 1968, Kerry reported for duty at Coastal Squadron 1 in Cam Ranh Bay in South Vietnam. In his role as an officer in charge of Swift boats, Kerry led five-man crews on a number of patrols into enemy-controlled areas. On January 30, Kerry took charge of PCF-94 and its crew, which he led until he departed An Thoi on March 26 and the crew was disbanded.

On January 22, 1969, Kerry and several other officers had a meeting in Saigon with Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, the commander of U.S. Naval forces in Vietnam, and U.S. Army General Creighton Abrams, the overall commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Kerry and the other officers reported that the "free-fire zone" policy was alienating the Vietnamese and that the Swift boats' actions were not accomplishing their ostensible goal of interdicting Viet Cong supply lines.

Military honors

During the night of December 2, 1968, and early morning of December 3, Kerry was in charge of a small boat operating near a peninsula north of Cam Ranh Bay together with a Swift boat (PCF-60). The disputed story is that Kerry's boat surprised a group of men unloading sampans at a river crossing, who began running and failed to obey an order to stop. Grant Hibbard retells the incident, stating he can still recall Kerry's wound, and that "it resembled a scrape from a fingernail."

Kerry received his second Purple Heart for a wound received in action on the Bo De River on February 20, 1969.

As the Swift boats reached the Cua Lon River, Kerry's boat was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade round, and a piece of shrapnel hit Kerry's left leg, wounding him. Kerry received his second Purple Heart for this injury, but he did not lose any time off from duty.

Eight days later, on February 28, came the events for which Kerry was awarded his Silver Star. On this occasion, Kerry was in tactical command of his Swift boat and two others. Kerry directed the boats "to turn to the beach and charge the Viet Cong positions" and he "expertly directed" his boat's fire and coordinated the deployment of the South Vietnamese troops, according to Admiral Zumwalt's original medal citation, which critics have complained was based on Kerry's own self-report.

Again, based on Kerry's reports, Kerry's commanding officer, Lieutenant George Elliott, joked that he didn't know whether to court-martial him for beaching the boat without orders or give him a medal for saving the crew. Elliott recommended Kerry for the Silver Star, and Zumwalt flew into An Thoi to personally award medals to Kerry and the rest of the sailors involved in the mission. They approached a fishing weir (a series of poles across the river for hanging nets), so that one group of boats went around left, hugging the shore, and a group with Kerry's 94 boat went around right along the shoreline.

James Rassmann, a Green Beret advisor who was sitting on the left deck of the pilothouse, or at the rear of PCF-94, was knocked backward overboard as Kerry's boat accelerated away. Rassmann was heading to the north bank, expecting to be taken prisoner, when Kerry realized he was gone and came back for him, cutting off another Swift boat that was slowly going over to pull Rassmann from the water.

Return from Vietnam

After Kerry's third qualifying wound, he was entitled per routine Navy regulations, to re-assignment away from combat duties.

On March 26, after a final patrol at night on March 25, Kerry was transferred to Cam Ranh Bay to await his orders.

John Kerry was on active duty in the U.S. Navy for three years and eight months, from August 1966 until March 1970.

Controversy over military service and awards

Critics have questioned several aspects of Kerry's military service. As the presidential campaign of 2004 developed, approximately 200 Vietnam-era veterans formed the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) and held press conferences, ran ads, and endorsed a book questioning Kerry's service record and his military awards. Several SBVT members were in the same unit as Kerry, but did not serve at the same time as Kerry's service. Others were listed as serving in the same swift boat, but again not at the same time as Kerry. One of them, Stephen Gardner, served on the same boat with Kerry. Other SBVT members included two of Kerry's former commanding officers, Grant Hibbard and George Elliott. In addition, various members of SBVT have questioned Kerry's other medals and his truthfulness in testimony about the war. Defenders of John Kerry's war record, including most of his surviving former crewmates, have asserted that several organizers of SBVT had close ties to the Bush presidential campaign and that certain SBVT accusations were politically motivated and false.

Anti-war activism (1970–1971)

After returning to the United States, Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). VVAW's members, including Kerry, could speak with personal knowledge about what they had seen in Vietnam.

In a Harvard Crimson interview, dated February 18, 1970, Kerry expounds on his view of how an immediate retreat would impact SE Asia:

Immediate withdrawal from Vietnam, Kerry said, would take about seven months due to complex logistics problems.

He would repeat this opinion in Washington DC the following year:

On April 22, 1971, Kerry became the first Vietnam veteran to testify before Congress about the war, when he appeared before a Senate committee hearing on proposals relating to ending the war. Kerry began with a prepared speech, in which he presented the conclusions of the Winter Soldier Investigation, where veterans had described personally committing or witnessing war crimes. Controversially referring to US servicemen in Vietnam as having been sent "to die for the biggest nothing in history," Kerry alleged that the military had "created a monster" in the form of violence-prone American soldiers, and recounted that soldiers had personally recollected stories of having "personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads," of Vietnamese citizens and rampaging across Vietnam "[razing] villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan".

Most of Kerry's testimony addressed the larger policy issues. Kerry expressed his view that the war was essentially a civil war and that nothing in Vietnam was a realistic threat to the United States. How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

The day after this testimony, Kerry participated in a demonstration with 800 other veterans in which he and other veterans threw their medals and ribbons over a fence at the front steps of the U.S. Capitol building to dramatize their opposition to the war. As Kerry threw his decorations over the fence, his statement was: "I'm not doing this for any violent reasons, but for peace and justice, and to try and make this country wake up once and for all."

Media appearances

Because Kerry was a decorated veteran who took a stand against the government's official position, he was frequently interviewed by broadcast and print media.

For example, Kerry appeared more than once on The Dick Cavett Show on ABC television. On one Cavett program (June 30, 1971), in debating John O'Neill, Kerry argued that some of the policies instituted by the U.S. military leaders in Vietnam, such as free-fire zones and burning noncombatants' houses, were contrary to the laws of war.

On NBC's Meet The Press in 1971, Kerry was asked whether he had personally committed atrocities in Vietnam. He responded:

Operation POW

Kerry's prominence also made him a frequent leader and spokesman at antiwar events around the country in 1971.

The second night of the march, May 29, was the occasion for Kerry's only arrest, when the participants tried to camp on the village green in Lexington. At 2:30 a.m. on May 30, local and state police awoke and arrested 441 demonstrators, including Kerry, for trespassing.

Despite his role in Operation POW and other VVAW events, Kerry eventually quit the organization over leadership differences. Kerry has been criticized regarding VVAW - see John Kerry VVAW controversy for more details.

Early career (1972–1985)

1972 Campaign for Congress

In February 1972, after Kerry previously passed on an opportunity to run in another district, his wife, Julia bought a house in Worcester. Residence there would have required Kerry to run for Congress against an incumbent Democrat, Harold D.

Counting Kerry, the Democratic primary race in 1972 had 10 candidates. Both Kerry's and DiFuscia's campaign HQ's were in the same building. On the eve of the September primary, Kerry's younger brother Cameron and campaign field director Thomas J. Vallely and Cameron Kerry maintained that they were only checking their own telephone lines because they had received an anonymous call warning that the Kerry lines would be cut.

Although Kerry's campaign was hurt by the election-day report of the arrest, he still won the primary by a comfortable margin over state Representative Paul J.

In the general election, Kerry was initially favored to defeat the Republican candidate, former state Representative Paul W.

Law school and early political career (1972–1985)

After Kerry's 1972 defeat, he and his wife bought a house in Lowell. In July 1974, while attending law school, Kerry was named executive director of Mass Action, a Massachusetts advocacy association. It was in this role in 1978, that Kerry announced an investigation into possible criminal charges against then Senator Edward Brooke, regarding "misstatements" in his first divorce trial.

In 1979, Kerry resigned from the District Attorney's office to set up a private law firm with another former prosecutor. And, although his private law practice was a success, Kerry was still interested in public office.

During his campaign, Kerry had argued that nuclear evacuation planning was "a sham intended to deceive Americans into believing they could survive a nuclear war". In his acceptance speech, Kerry asserted that his win meant that the people of Massachusetts "emphatically reject the politics of selfishness and the notion that women must be treated as second-class citizens." Kerry was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in January 1985.

Service in the U.S. Senate (1985–present)

See also: Legislation sponsored by John Kerry

Iran-Contra hearings

On April 18, 1985, a few months after taking his Senate seat, Kerry and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa traveled to Nicaragua and met the country's president, Daniel Ortega. The offer was denounced by the Reagan administration as a "propaganda initiative" designed to influence a House vote on a $14 million Contra aid package, but Kerry said "I am willing...to take the risk in the effort to put to test the good faith of the Sandinistas."

In April 1986, Kerry and Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, proposed that hearings be conducted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding charges of Contra involvement in cocaine and marijuana trafficking.

Meanwhile, Kerry's staff began their own investigations, and on October 14 issued a report which exposed illegal activities on the part of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, who had set up a private network involving the National Security Council and the CIA to deliver military equipment to right-wing Nicaraguan rebels (Contras). In effect, North and certain members of the President's administration were accused by Kerry's report of illegally funding and supplying armed militants without the authorization of Congress. Kerrys staff investigation, based on a year long inquiry and interviews with 50 unnamed sources, is said to raise "serious questions about whether the United States has abided by the law in its handling of the contras over the past three years."

The Kerry Committee report found that "the Contra drug links included...payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies."

The Kerry report was a precursor to the Iran-Contra affair.

Kerry and the George H. Bush administration

On November 15, 1988, at a businessmen's breakfast in East Lynn, Massachusetts, Kerry made a joke about President-elect George H.W.

During their investigation of Noriega, Kerry's staff found reason to believe that the Pakistan-based Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) had facilitated Noriega's drug trafficking and money laundering. In December 1992, Kerry and Senator Hank Brown, a Republican from Colorado, released The BCCI Affair, a report on the BCCI scandal.

Kerry was criticized by some Democrats for having pursued his own party members, including former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford, although Republicans said he should have pressed against some Democrats even harder.

Precursors to Presidential Bid

See also: Massachusetts United States Senate election, 1996, United States presidential election, 2000

In 1996, Kerry faced a difficult re-election fight against Governor William Weld, a popular Republican incumbent who had been re-elected in 1994 with 71% of the vote. Kerry and Weld held several debates and negotiated a campaign spending cap of $6.9 million at Kerry's Beacon Hill mansion. Kerry eventually broke the agreement, which led to his win in a very close race, according to Rob Gray, Mr. Weld's campaign spokesman. "John Kerry will abandon his principles to win," he said. During the campaign, Kerry spoke briefly at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. According to Newsweek, during the 2004 presidential election, Weld was interviewed by Karl Rove, Karen Hughes and other senior members of the Bush campaign on debating and running against Kerry.

In the 2000 presidential elections, Kerry again found himself close to being chosen as the vice presidential running mate .

A release from the presidential campaign of presumptive Democratic nominee Al Gore listed Kerry on the short list to be selected as the vice-presidential nominee, along with North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt, New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen, and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. Gore eventually selected Lieberman as the nominee, but Kerry continued to campaign on behalf of the Gore-Lieberman campaign through Election Day.

Issues and voting record

John Kerry is a member of the Democratic Leadership Council, which advocates centrist and liberal positions. Most analyses place Kerry's voting record on the left within the Senate Democratic caucus. During the 2004 presidential election he was portrayed as a staunch liberal by conservative special interest groups and the Bush campaign, who often noted that in 2003 Kerry was rated the National Journal's top Senate liberal. In fact, in terms of career voting records, the National Journal found that Kerry is the 11th most liberal member of the Senate. Most analyses find that Kerry is at least slightly more liberal than the typical Democratic Senator.

Kerry has stated that he opposes privatizing Social Security, supports abortion rights for adult women and minors, supports civil unions for same-sex couples, opposes capital punishment except for terrorists, supports most gun control laws, and is generally a supporter of trade agreements.

Iraq

In 1991, during the debate before the Gulf War, Kerry initially opposed the immediate use of military force to expel Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait. The United Nations had imposed sanctions on Iraq, and Kerry argued that the sanctions then in place should be given more time to work.

More recently, Kerry said on October 9, 2002; Kerry did however warn the administration should exhaust its diplomatic avenues before launching war: "Mr. President, do not rush to war, take the time to build the coalition, because it's not winning the war that's hard, it's winning the peace that's hard."

After the invasion of Iraq, when no Weapons of Mass Destruction were found, Kerry strongly criticized Bush, contending that he had misled the country: "When the president of the United States looks at you and tells you something, there should be some trust."

Other Senate activities

During his Senate career, Kerry has sponsored or cosponsored dozens of bills.

Kerry was the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 1987 to 1989.

As of 2006, Kerry serves on four Senate committees and twelve subcommittees:

Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Health Care Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy Subcommittee on Long-term Growth and Debt Reduction (Ranking member) Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Ranking member - Chairman from 2001 to 2003) Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Fisheries and the Coast Guard Subcommittee on Trade, Tourism and Economic Development Subcommittee on Technology, Innovation and Competitiveness (Ranking member) Subcommittee on Global Climate Change and Impacts Subcommittee on National Ocean Policy Study Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs(Ranking member) Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion Subcommittee on International Operations and Terrorism Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps & Narcotics Affair

2004 Presidential election

In the 2004 Democratic Presidential primaries, John Kerry defeated several Democratic rivals, including Sen. John Edwards (D-North Carolina.), former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and retired Gen. His victory in the Iowa caucuses is widely believed to be the tipping point where Kerry revived his sagging campaign in New Hampshire and the February 3 primary states like Arizona, South Carolina and New Mexico. Kerry thus won the Democratic nomination to run for President of the United States against incumbent George W.

On November 3, 2004, Kerry conceded the race. Kerry won 59.03 million votes or about 48 percent of the popular vote; Kerry received the second-highest number of votes ever for president of the United States, Bush getting the highest. Kerry carried states with a total of 252 electoral votes. One Kerry elector voted for Kerry's running mate, Edwards, so in the final tally Kerry had 251 electoral votes to Bush's 286.

Conservative critics on Vietnam as a campaign theme

Some conservative opponents like Boston Globe technology reporter Hiawatha Bray have claimed that Kerry was "moronic" in using his military service as a campaign theme. Previously, Kerry wrote an article during the 1992 Presidential Election that appeared in The Wall Street Journal. Yet, some conservative critics like Bray and Swift Boat Veteran John O' Neil claim that Kerry himself made his service in Vietnam "the central issue" of his 2004 presidential campaign.

Post-presidential election activities

Speculation about possible 2008 presidential bid

Immediately after the 2004 election, some Democrats mentioned Kerry as a possible contender for the 2008 Democratic nomination. His brother has said such a campaign is "conceivable," and Kerry himself reportedly said at a farewell party for his 2004 campaign staff, "There's always another four years", and has repeatedly responded to the question of running again by saying "I'm keeping all of my options open." Some aides, however, have stated that Kerry told campaign officials he could not envision another run.

Kerry's campaign fund still holds some unspent money that he raised in running for the 2004 Democratic nomination, because he was not allowed to spend it in the general election. Some criticism was leveled at Kerry for not using the remaining funds for Democratic campaigns in 2004. Through his campaign account and his political action committee, Keeping America's Promise, Kerry has donated a total of $700,000 to 80 candidates and $5.3 million for dozens of Democratic candidates, state parties and charitable causes. Kerry has held political events in 22 states since last year's election, including visits to the presidential proving grounds of Iowa and New Hampshire and swing states such as Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Kerry's $15 million war chest is surpassed only by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York -- who has a war chest of about $17 million -- among potential 2008 Democratic contenders.

In some polls during 2005, Kerry remained a leading Democratic candidate for his party's nomination in the presidential election of 2008.

In 2006, Kerry continued to fundraise at an impressive clip. Through Keeping America's Promise, Kerry has raised $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2006 from 11,000 donors nationally earning him the moniker "fundraiser in chief." By the fall, the Kerry campaign operation generated more than $10 million for various party committees and 179 candidates for the US House, Senate, state and local offices in 42 states focusing on the midterm elections during the last 2 years. "Cumulatively, John Kerry has done as much if not more than any other individual senator," Hassan Nemazee, the national finance chairman of the DSCC said. Despite his focus on 2006, Kerry currently had four political committees with a combined $14 million cash on hand for a 2008 run. Kerry continues to travel in support of other democratic candidates and issues. Despite not campaigning in several states during the 2004 election, Kerry has drawn overflow crowds in states such as Texas and South Carolina.

In September 2006, when asked about being "Swift-Boated" again, Kerry responded "I’m prepared to kick their ass from one end of America to the other. On October 15, 2006, when asked directly about his plans for 2008 on the Fox News Channel Kerry cited examples of Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon as winning the presidency after a defeat before saying "[I]n America, Americans give people a second chance.

Controversy over comments on Iraq and education

On October 30, 2006, Kerry was a headline speaker at a campaign rally being held for Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. Bush, John McCain, and Dennis Hastert, said that Kerry's comments were insulting to American military forces fighting in Iraq. called on Kerry to apologize and Pennsylvania Senate candidate Bob Casey, Jr. Kerry later said that he had intended the remark as a jab at President Bush but he had inadvertently left out the key word "us." To support his explanation, Kerry released prepared remarks in which the corresponding line was "... According to Ann McLane Kuster, a prominent Democratic activist, Kerry's gaffe "plays into all the traits he has that are out of touch."

Kerry initially stated ""Let me make it crystal clear, as crystal clear as I know how.

Personal life

Kerry's oldest friends and family call him "Johnny". According to an interview he gave to Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, Kerry's favorite album is Abbey Road and he is a fan of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, as well as of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Buffett, he also mentioned that he never liked heavy metal During his 2004 presidential campaign, Kerry used Bruce Springsteen's No Surrender as one of his campaign songs.

Kerry is described by Sports Illustrated, among others, as an "avid cyclist" , primarily riding on a road bike. Prior to his Presidential bid, Kerry was known to have participated in several long-distance rides (centuries).

In 2003, Kerry was diagnosed with and successfully treated for prostate cancer .

Family

Kerry was married to Julia Thorne in 1970, and they had two children together. Alexandra was born on September 5, 1973, days before Kerry began law school.

In 1982 Thorne, who was suffering from severe depression, asked Kerry for a separation.

Kerry and his second wife, Teresa Simões-Ferreira Heinz, the widow of Pennsylvania Senator H. John Kerry's stepsons – Teresa's three sons from her previous marriage – are H.

The Forbes 400 survey estimated in 2004 that Teresa Heinz Kerry had a net worth of $750 million. Regardless of which figure is given, Kerry is the wealthiest U.S. Senator. Kerry is wealthy in his own name, and is the beneficiary of at least four trusts inherited from Forbes family members, including his mother, who died in 2002. Forbes magazine (a major business magazine named for an unrelated Forbes family) estimated that if elected, Kerry would have been the third-richest U.S. President in history when adjusted for inflation . Kerry's financial disclosure form for 2002 put his personal assets in the range of $409,000 to $1.8 million, with additional assets held jointly by Kerry and his wife in the range of $300,000 to $600,000.

John Kerry has two sisters, Diana and Peggy, and a brother, Cameron, who is a litigator in Boston.

Religious beliefs and practices

A Roman Catholic, Kerry was said to carry a rosary, a prayer book, and a St. Christopher medal (the patron saint of travelers) when he campaigned. However, while Kerry is personally against abortion, he supports a woman's right to have one, which puts him at odds with the Catholic Church. Kerry is a Roman Catholic who supports abortion rights, like several other national political figures, including Rudolph Giuliani, George Pataki, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

According to Christianity Today, Kerry remarks about his faith:

"I'm a Catholic and I practice, but at the same time I have an open-mindedness to many other expressions of spirituality that come through different religions. Ironically, Bob Kerrey was frequently mentioned as a possible running mate for John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign. Before the 2004 election, it was a common urban legend that John Kerry once dated actress Debra Winger, while it was actually Bob Kerrey that dated her.

In 1992, John Kerry guest-starred as himself during the opening segment of the Cheers episode "Bar wars VI: This Time it's for Real".

John Kerry and George W. Bush (R) (inc.), 51% (286 electoral votes) John Kerry (D), 48% (251 electoral votes) John Edwards (D), 0% (1 electoral vote) Others, 1% (0 electoral votes) 2002 Race for U.S. Senate (MA) John Kerry (D) (inc.), 80% Michael Cloud (L), 18% Randall Forsberg (write-in), 1% 1996 Race for U.S. Senate (MA) John Kerry (D) (inc.), 52% Bill Weld (R), 45% Susan C. Gallagher (Con.), 3% 1990 Race for U.S. Senate (MA) John Kerry (D) (inc.), 55% Jim Rappaport (R), 41% 1984 Race for U.S. Senate (MA) John Kerry (D), 55% Raymond Shamie (R), 45% 1972 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - MA 5th District Paul W. Cronin (R), 54% John Kerry (D), 45%

External links and references

Wikisource has original works written by or about: John Kerry Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: John Kerry Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Kerry

Official

JohnKerry.com — John Kerry's political web site Kerry's military records - from JohnKerry.com via the Internet Archive John Kerry's Online Office — Official senatorial site Keeping America's Promise — PAC led by Kerry

Media

Gibbs, Nancy and Douglas Waller, "What Kind of President Would Kerry Be?," TIME Magazine, February 9, 2004. Klein, Joe, "The Long War of John Kerry: Can a Massachusetts Brahmin become President?," The New Yorker, December 2, 2002. Kranish, Michael, "John Kerry: Candidate in the making," Boston Globe, June 15, 2003. The 2004 Debates "The New Soldier, John Kerry's book." "Senate Elections, John Kerry (1997-2002)". "Senator John Forbes Kerry". "Profile: John Kerry". Frontline: the choice 2004 - Thorough two-hour special compares Kerry and Bush. John Kerry's complete 1971 statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from National Review Selections from John Kerry's 1971 statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Information

John Kerry on the issues John Kerry Family Tree Statement on behalf of Vietnam Veterans Against the War - April 1971. Senator John Kerry's voting record John Kerry's Senate hearing testimony to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 1971. Kerry of Massachusetts in the 108th Congress The BCCI Affair, A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, by Senator John Kerry and Senator Hank Brown, December 1992 Political donations made by John Kerry Snopes.com: "Service Mettle" - Snopes.com on Kerry's Vietnam service medals Tour of Duty - excerpt from Brinkley's book about Kerry's Vietnam service Irish Catholic or Czech Jew? - Kerry's long lost Jewish ethnic ancestry John Kerry's letter to his parents about Richard Pershing's death - 1968 Voting record maintained by the Washington Post

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1983 – 1985	Succeeded by: Evelyn Murphy
Preceded by: Paul Tsongas	U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Massachusetts 1985 – present Served alongside: Ted Kennedy	Incumbent
Preceded by: Al Gore	Democratic Party Presidential nominee 2004(lost)	Succeeded by: N/A: Most recent(a)
(a) Most recent presidential election as of 2005

Persondata
NAME	Kerry, John Forbes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, 2004 Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party
DATE OF BIRTH	11 December 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH	Aurora, Colorado
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

John (Forbes) Kerry - Family history and childhood years, Military service (1966–1970), Anti-war activism (1970–1971)