Daily Archives: February 4, 2013

JFK is in the building, and we’re not Just Kidding!

February 4, 2013 By in Secretary of State, State Department Tags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

Protocol’s Capricia Marshall with Under Sectary for Management Patrick Kennedy met Senator Kerry at the C. Street entrance.  The arrival ceremony includes a brief welcome speech from Susan Johnson, the president of AFSA and an introduction by Deputy Secretary Tom Nides (who actually bowed to 68th).  On the front row “seats”, you might see several of the under secretaries and assistant secretaries, the Director General of the Foreign Service and the USAID administrator.

Below is Secretary Kerry’s arrival in Foggy Bottom in a 23:44 video. The text is here.

The State Department also announced:

#SecKerry will start tweeting from @StateDept. Tweets from him will have his initials -JK

The use of the three-letter initials is a routine practice over there. So Hillary was referred to as HRC.  John F. Kerry would have been JFK.  Except now, it seems he’ll be referred to as “JK” as the three letter initial is already taken.

WaPo’s In The Loop helpfully points out:

“…[N]ow that Kerry’s in the high-stakes world of international diplomacy, he might be in danger of sending mixed messages over a medium where meaning is easily lost. His sign-off, “JK,” for instance, is also online shorthand for “just kidding.”

Folks, think about it.
sig4

Related articles

John Kerry Sworn In as the 68th Secretary of State

February 4, 2013 By in Diplomatic History, Secretary of State, Spouses, State Department Tags: , , , , ,

On February 1, 2013, at 4:04 p.m. EST, John Forbes Kerry was sworn in as the 68th Secretary of State of the United States.  Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan administered the oath in the Foreign Relations Committee Room in the Capitol. They were joined by his wife Teresa, daughter Vanessa, brother Cameron, and his Senate staff.

Kerry_swearing in

Photo via State Department/Flickr

As has been reported elsewhere, Secretary Kerry is also the son of Richard Kerry (1915–2000), a Foreign Service Officer and an attorney for the Bureau of United Nations Affairs, and Rosemary Isabel (Forbes) Kerry (1913–2002).

He is not the first diplobrat to become a Secretary of State, of course. That honor belongs to John Quincy Adams, our 8th Secretary of State.  No. 8 spent his youth accompanying his father John Adams overseas when the later served as an American envoy to France from 1778 until 1779 and to the Netherlands from 1780 until 1782.

Might Secretary Kerry be the first one with a foreign born spouse (Teresa Heinz was born in Maputo, Mozambique)?  No. That’s also John Quincy Adams who married, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams born in London in 1775.  He went on to  become the 6th President of the United States and his wife was the only First Lady born outside of the United States.

The Voice of America, by the way, helpfully points out prior to his confirmation that “John Kerry will be the first white male U.S. Secretary of State in about 16 years.” The last white male who had the job in 1997 was Warren Christopher.

May we add that he also has the distinction of serving as the 10th Secretary of State from the state of Massachusetts?

Secretary Kerry will address employees upon his arrival at the State Department on Monday, February 4 at 9:00.  Look sharp and don’t be late!
sig4

Related articles