Public Figure Profiles

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who is the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 under Barack Obama. Kerry came to public attention as a decorated naval officer and Vietnam veteran turned anti-war activist. He went on to become a county prosecutor and then Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, before serving as United States Senator from Massachusetts from 1985 to 2013. He was the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 election, losing to incumbent President George W. Bush.

Kerry grew up as a child of military personnel in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., before attending boarding school in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In 1966, after graduating from Yale University, he enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve, ultimately attaining the rank of lieutenant. From 1968 to 1969, during the Vietnam War, Kerry served an abbreviated four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam. While commanding a Swift boat, he sustained three wounds in combat with the Viet Cong, for which he earned three Purple Heart Medals. Kerry was awarded the Silver Star Medal and the Bronze Star Medal for valorous conduct in separate military engagements. After completing his active military service, Kerry returned to the United States and became an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. He gained national recognition as an anti-war activist, serving as a spokesperson for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War organization. Kerry testified in the Fulbright Hearings before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, where he described the United States government's policy in Vietnam as the cause of war crimes.

In 1972, Kerry entered electoral politics as a Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives in Massachusetts' 5th congressional district. Kerry won the Democratic nomination but was defeated in the general election by his Republican opponent. He subsequently worked as a radio talk show host in Lowell and as the executive director of an advocacy organization while attending the Boston College School of Law. After obtaining his juris doctor in 1976, Kerry served from 1977 to 1979 as the first assistant district attorney of Middlesex County, where he tried criminal cases and managed the district attorney's office. After a period in private legal practice, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1982. In 1984, Kerry was elected to the United States Senate. As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, he led a series of hearings investigating narcotics trafficking in Latin America, which exposed aspects of the Iran–Contra affair. He was reelected to additional terms in 1990, 1996, 2002 and 2008.

Kerry won the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2004, alongside vice presidential nominee and North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Kerry campaigned as a critic of Republican President George W. Bush's prosecution of the Iraq War and advocated a liberal domestic policy. He lost the Electoral College and the popular vote by slim margins, winning 251 electors to Bush's 286 and 48.3% of the popular vote to Bush's 50.7%. Kerry remained in the Senate and chaired the Committee on Foreign Relations from 2009 to 2013. In January 2013, Kerry was nominated by president Barack Obama to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and was confirmed by his Senate colleagues on a vote of 94 to 3. He was U.S. secretary of state throughout the second term of the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. During his tenure, he initiated the 2013–2014 Israeli–Palestinian peace talks and negotiated agreements restricting the nuclear program of Iran, including the 2013 Joint Plan of Action and the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. In 2015, Kerry signed the Paris Agreement on climate change on behalf of the United States. At the end of the Obama administration in January 2017, Kerry remained active in public affairs as a vocal opponent of Obama's successor, President Donald Trump, from 2017 to 2021. Kerry returned to government in January 2021, becoming the first person to hold the new position, U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, in Biden's administration.

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Some of their strengths

John Kerry has many admirable traits.

Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Imaginative, Creative, Generous, Charming, Intelligent, and Passionate.

Adventurous and Independent

According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, John Kerry is someone who is an adventurous, independent, and energetic person, who is insightful, imaginative, generous, and honest. A person who is charismatic and resourceful.

Soulful and Intuitive

Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know John Kerry well know them as someone who can be graceful, romantic, and reserved, like gentle rain.

Ambitious and Forceful

According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe John Kerry as someone who is ambitious, hard-working, determined, and intelligent.

A person who has a knack for identifying opportunities, has amazing concentration and focus, who can work independently, who likes starting new things, and who is somewhat of an intellectual.

Social and Intuitive

Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, John Kerry is someone who values forming deep friendships and relationships, and who has strong intuition and reasoning skills .

They are also someone who is intuitive, imaginative, and an agent of change, and who is always dreaming of life's great possibilities and partnering with people to try to achieve those possibilities.

Optimistic and Quick-witted

According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, John Kerry tends to be someone who is optimistic and spontaneous, and who has a clear and analytical mind. Who can be witty, with a happy-go-lucky- nature that makes others cheerful, and who possesses an adventurous zest for life.

Some of John Kerry's challenges

While John Kerry has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.

For example, John Kerry can be Impulsive, Careless, Hypocritical, Self-centered, Relentless, Inflexible, and Non-confrontational.

Impulsive and Careless

One of John Kerry's key challenges is that they are someone who can be impulsive and careless.

John Kerry must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs, and can be short-tempered and aggressive, and can have difficulty dealing with responsibility, authority, or criticism.

Relentless and Inflexible

John Kerry is someone who can be relentless, obsessive, and inflexible, who can be confrontational with work colleagues, can have difficulty communicating feelings and be somewhat reclusive, and who can be self-destructive, overindulgent, and extravagant.

Irritable and Callous

Finally, John Kerry also can be short-tempered, childish, insensitive, and careless at times.

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