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Biographical information for Sen. John Kerry

Published: December 17, 2012 Comment on this article

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NAME — John Forbes Kerry.

AGE-BIRTH DATE — 69; Dec. 11, 1943.

EDUCATION — Bachelor's degree, political science, Yale University, 1966; law degree, Boston College, 1976.

photo - FILE - This Dec. 3, 2012 file photo shows Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kerry stands tall as President Barack Obama's good soldier. The lawmaker from Massachusetts has quietly jetted off to Afghanistan and Pakistan numerous times to tamp down diplomatic disputes that threatened to explode in the administration's face, spending hours on tea and walks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai or delicate negotiations in Islamabad. It's a highly unusual role for a Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman: envoy without a specific portfolio. Kerry has pushed the White House's national security agenda in the Senate, with mixed results. He successfully ensured ratification of a nuclear arms reduction treaty in 2010 and most recently failed to convince Republicans to back a U.N. pact on the rights of persons with disabilities. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - This Dec. 3, 2012 file photo shows Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kerry stands tall as President Barack Obama's good soldier. The lawmaker from Massachusetts has quietly jetted off to Afghanistan and Pakistan numerous times to tamp down diplomatic disputes that threatened to explode in the administration's face, spending hours on tea and walks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai or delicate negotiations in Islamabad. It's a highly unusual role for a Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman: envoy without a specific portfolio. Kerry has pushed the White House's national security agenda in the Senate, with mixed results. He successfully ensured ratification of a nuclear arms reduction treaty in 2010 and most recently failed to convince Republicans to back a U.N. pact on the rights of persons with disabilities. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

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EXPERIENCE — U.S. Senate, 1985-present; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president, 2004; Massachusetts lieutenant governor, 1983-1985; lawyer in private practice, 1979-1982; Middlesex County, Mass., prosecutor, 1976-1978; spokesman, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, 1971; Navy officer, awarded Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat "V," three Purple Hearts for Vietnam War service, 1966-1970.

FAMILY — Wife, Teresa Heinz; two children, three stepchildren, two grandchildren.

QUOTE — "I've known and worked closely with Susan Rice not just at the U.N., but in my own campaign for president. I've defended her publicly and wouldn't hesitate to do so again because I know her character and I know her commitment. She's an extraordinarily capable and dedicated public servant."