Jean Kennedy
| Jean Kennedy Smith | |
|---|---|
Kennedy Smith with Victoria Reggie Kennedy in 2008
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| United States Ambassador to Ireland | |
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In office June 17, 1993 – September 17, 1998 |
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| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | William H. G. FitzGerald |
| Succeeded by | Michael J. Sullivan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jean Ann Kennedy February 20, 1928 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality | American, Irish (honorary) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Stephen Edward Smith (m. 1956; d. 1990) |
| Relations | See Kennedy family |
| Children | Stephen Edward Smith, Jr. William Kennedy Smith Amanda Mary Smith (adopted) Kym Maria Smith (adopted) |
| Parents |
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. Rose Fitzgerald |
| Alma mater | Manhattanville College |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (born February 20, 1928) is an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She is the eighth of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, and is their longest-lived and last surviving child. Her siblings include President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, longtime Senator Ted Kennedy, and Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
Smith is the founder of Very Special Arts (VSA), an internationally recognized non-profit dedicated to creating a society where those with disabilities can engage with the arts. In 2011, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama for her work with VSA and the disabled.
As Ambassador to Ireland, Smith was instrumental to the Northern Ireland peace process as President Bill Clinton's representative in Dublin. She was heavily criticised after advocating for the U.S. government to grant a visa to Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, although her family would claim this influenced the IRA declaring a ceasefire in 1994. Irish President Mary McAleese conferred honorary Irish citizenship on Smith in 1998 in recognition of her service to the country.
Jean Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on her elder sister Kathleen's eighth birthday. She has been described as the shyest and most guarded of the Kennedy children. She attended Manhattanville College (at the time a Sacred Heart school, and still located in Purchase NY), where she met and befriended two future sisters-in-law: Ethel Skakel, who married her older brother Robert in 1950 and Joan Bennett who married her younger brother Ted in 1958.
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