Jean Kennedy Smith

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Jean Kennedy Smith (left) with her sister-in-law Vicki Kennedy (2008)

Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (born February 20, 1928 as Jean Ann Kennedy in Boston , Massachusetts , † June 17, 2020 in New York City ) was an American diplomat . She was born the eighth of the nine children of Joseph and Rose Kennedy and was the last of the siblings after the death of her brother Edward Kennedy in August 2009.

Life

As a shy child, Jean Kennedy grew up in a noisy family. Her mother said, "She was born so late that she only saw the tragedies, not the highlights." She went to Manhattanville College , where she befriended two of her future sisters-in-law, Ethel Kennedy and Virginia Joan Bennett .

On May 19, 1956, she married Stephen Edward Smith, a businessman who managed the Kennedy family's finances and political campaigns. Jean never stepped into the limelight like her siblings; she preferred a secluded life and settled with her family in New York. After the birth of her two sons, she adopted two girls, the younger of whom was born in Vietnam during the war there in 1972 .

On August 19, 1990, her husband died of cancer. In 1991 her son William, born in 1960, was charged with rape and acquitted. In 1993 she followed in her father's footsteps and became US ambassador to Ireland on the proposal of US President Bill Clinton , where she was involved in the peace process ; she held this post until 1998. She then founded Very Special Arts , a non-profit organization that supports the artistic talents of disabled children.

Jean Kennedy Smith died in June 2020 at the age of 92.

Awards

In 1998 Irish President Mary McAleese made her honorary Irish citizenship .

In February 2011, Jean Kennedy Smith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jean Kennedy Smith, Kennedy sister and architect of peace in Northern Ireland, dies at 92 , Washington Post, June 18, 2020, accessed June 18, 2020
  2. ↑ Ambassador J. Kennedy Smith Is Fellow at Institute of Politics ( Memento of September 2, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Irish Central: Jean Kennedy Smith, John Sweeney receive Presidential Medal of Freedom (February 17, 2011)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Smith, Jean Kennedy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kennedy, Jean Ann (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American diplomat, member of the Kennedy family
DATE OF BIRTH February 20, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Boston , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH 17th June 2020
Place of death New York City