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John Kerry. Photo by United States Department of State.

Top 10 Fascinating facts about John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry was born on the 11th of December 1943. He was born into the prominent Forbes family and was raised as a military child.

He studied at Yale and later joined the navy and attained the rank of lieutenant. He fought in the Vietnam war getting injured in the process.

He was awarded three purple hearts medals among Many others. He then became an anti-war activist.

He worked in Massachusetts as an attorney before joining politics. He served as the governor and then senator for Massachusetts. He was the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 under Barack Obama.

The political diplomat is now the first United States special presidential envoy for the climate.

Here are 10 Fascinating facts about John Kerry:

1. John is the first United States special presidential envoy for climate

The United States special presidential envoy for the climate is a position in the Executive Office of the President of the United States currently held by John Kerry.

The post has authority over energy policy and climate policy within the executive branch.

This position will aid the NSC to have an official dedication to climate change issues and to address the climate crisis as one affecting national security. Kerry’s position has also been referred to as the “Climate Czar”.

There has only been one previous climate policy advisor in the White House, a position held by Carol Browner as the director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy from 2009 to 2011.

2. He served as the 68th United States secretary of state

Headshot of John Kerry. Photo by United States Congress.

John Kerry served as the 68th secretariat of the state of the United States. The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States.

The officeholder is one of the highest-ranking members of the president’s Cabinet and ranks first in the U.S.

The secretary of state holds a strong position on the presidential line of succession among Cabinet secretaries and the head of the U.S. Department of State.

John Kerry served as the secretary under former President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017.

3. Kerry is a member of the Forbes family

The Forbes family is a wealthy extended American family long prominent in Boston, Massachusetts, and one of the components of the Boston Brahmins.

The family’s fortune originates from the 19th-century trading of opium and tea between North America and China.

The family also invested in other businesses in the same period. The Forbes magazine was named after the family.

John Forbes Kerry is part of the first generation who accumulated wealth. While he was serving as the Senator he was the wealthiest in the state

4. He suffered from prostate cancer

John Forbes Kerry. Photo by U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv.

Kerry was raised in a military environment. He has been in great health and has revealed he enjoys sailing and cycling.

He broke his right leg once while biking in Scionzier, France. In 2003 John was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

This cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men.

Most prostate cancers are slow growing and may initially cause no symptoms but during the later stages, the symptoms include pain or difficulty urinating, blood in the urine, or pain in the pelvis or back.

John was successfully treated for cancer soon after.

5. John grew up as a child of military personnel

John Forbes Kerry was born at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado.

His father was a Foreign Service officer and lawyer, and Rosemary Forbes was a nurse and social activist.

He grew up a military child in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. until his father was discharged from the Army Air Corps.

His father took a spot in the Department of the Navy’s Office of General Counsel and soon became a diplomat in the State Department’s Bureau of United Nations Affairs.

He then attended boarding school in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

6. John was a naval officer and Vietnam veteran turned anti-war activist

John Kerry. Photo by City of Boston Archives from West Roxbury, United States.

After Kerry graduated from Yale University, he enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve. He served as a naval officer and rose to attain the rank of lieutenant.

He then took part in the Vietnam War where he served an abbreviated four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam.

He sustained three wounds in combat while commanding a Swift boat and earned three Purple Heart Medals for valor and bravery.

In addition, he was awarded the Silver Star Medal and the Bronze Star Medal for his bravery and skillful conduct in separate military engagements.

He completed his active military service and returned to the United States where he 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.

7. He served as Governor and then senator of Massachusetts

Kerry declared he was running for the gubernatorial seat in 1982 after Lieutenant Governor Thomas P. O’Neill III declined to seek a third term.

John won the election and became Lieutenant Governor leading meetings of the Massachusetts Governor’s Council. He was active on environmental issues, including combating acid rain.

After the junior U.S. senator, Paul Tsongas from Massachusetts announced that he would be stepping down for health reasons Kerry ran for the seat.

Sadly, he did not receive the endorsement of the party regulars at the state Democratic convention as he was the Lieutenant Governor.

Dukakis then appointed Kerry to fill the vacancy, giving him seniority over other new senators. He then became the senator of Massachusetts. 

8. Kerry is a Roman Catholic

Politician John Forbes Kerry. Photo by Kenneth C. Zirkel.

John is a Roman Catholic who carried a Rosary, a prayer book, and a St. Christopher medal when he campaigned. 

He was raised Catholic as his Father although his paternal grandparents were Austro-Hungarian Jewish immigrants who converted to Catholicism.

He revealed he was very religious when he was studying in Switzerland as a young man.

He had thought about converting to the priesthood and was already an altar boy, praying all the time. He claimed to have been centered around the Mass and the church.

The Letters of Paul moved him the most, stating that they taught him to not feel sorry for himself. He also said he believed that the Torah, the Quran, and the Bible all share a real story that connects with readers.

9. He has been awarded two distinct foreign honors

Kerry was awarded the Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

It is the only federal decoration of Germany awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellectual, or honorary fields.

On the 5th of December 2015, John F. Kerry was awarded the Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

He has also been awarded the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor which is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.  John was awarded on the 11th of December 2016.

10. Kerry has received several honorary degrees

John Kerry has received numerous honorary degrees for his service in the United States.

The University of Massachusetts and Kenyon College awarded him with a Doctorate of law in 1988 and 2006 respectively.

The Northeastern university awarded him the Doctorate of Public Services in 2000. He has also received yet another honorary Doctorate in Law from Yale University 2017 etc.