Jean Kennedy Smith was American Ambassador to Ireland for five years in the 1990s
New York:
John F. Kennedy’s last surviving brother, Jean Kennedy Smith – who helped bring peace to Northern Ireland – died at the age of 92.
Smith, who was U.S. ambassador to Ireland for five years in the 1990s, died on Wednesday at her home in Manhattan, New York.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
Smith paid tribute to Smith, whose brothers also included Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy.
“She has led an incredible life,” daughter Kym Smith told NBC News in a statement.
Members of Congress also quickly paid tribute.
“Very sad to hear that Jean Kennedy Smith has died,” tweeted House of Commons Democrat David Cicilline.
“A true public servant, Ambassador Kennedy Smith was a longtime advocate for the disabled and a diplomat who helped bring peace to Northern Ireland,” he added.
Born February 20, 1928 in Boston, Massachusetts, Smith was the eighth of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald.
The family would become the most famous political dynasty in the United States and an endless source of fascination for the American public.
After spending much of his life as a socialite out of the political spotlight in 1993, Smith was appointed US Ambassador to Dublin by then President Bill Clinton.
The nomination raised a few eyebrows, but Smith, whose father had been ambassador to Britain when she was young, embraced her role, shaking it along the way.
She frequently met Gerry Adams, the head of the political wing of the Irish Republican Army Sinn Fein, even if American policy did not do so and despite strong criticism.
Smith is known to have helped him obtain a visa to visit the United States, where he pleaded for a ceasefire in the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Kennedy “curse”
His actions towards Adams, who was considered a terrorist by the British government, led the Sinn Fein to peace talks. Clinton then invited Adams to the White House.
Smith played a key role in helping restore a ceasefire that paved the way for the subsequent negotiations that culminated in the 1998 Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement.
The historic agreement has largely ended the violence that has plagued Northern Ireland since the 1960s.
Smith’s life has been ruined by the many tragedies that have struck the Kennedy family, leaving some commentators to even suggest that the clan is cursed.
His older brother Joseph P. Kennedy Jr was killed at the age of 29 in 1944 while he was a bomber pilot during the Second World War.
Her sister Kathleen died at the age of 28 when a light aircraft in which she was traveling crashed over France in 1948.
President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Robert Kennedy was shot dead in 1968 while seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
Smith married director of transportation Stephen Smith in 1956 and they had four children. He died in 1990.
Although Smith never ran for office, she campaigned for John, who became the first Irish Catholic President of the United States in 1960.
In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded Smith the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the country.
In his 2016 memoir “The Nine of US: Growing up Kennedy,” Smith wrote that she felt she had a normal childhood.
“It is difficult for me to fully understand that I was growing up with brothers who ultimately held the highest office in our nation, including the President of the United States,” Smith wrote.
“At the time, they were just my playmates. They were the source of my amusement and the objects of my admiration,” she added.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
