Kerry Kennedy

Mary Kerry Kennedy (born September 8, 1959) is an American human rights activist and writer. She is the seventh child and third daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy. She was known as Kerry Kennedy Cuomo from 1991 until 2003. She is the president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. She is also a niece of John F. Kennedy and cousin of Maria Shriver.

Early life

Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Three days after her birth, her father resigned as chief counsel of the Senate Rackets Committee. Her father was assassinated in 1968. She is a graduate of The Putney School and Brown University and received her J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Activism

Since 1981, Kennedy has worked as a human rights activist, leading delegations into places such as El Salvador, Gaza, Haiti, Kenya, Northern Ireland, and South Korea She was also involved in causes in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Sudan, and Pakistan.

She became president of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights (now Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights) in 1988 and was the Executive Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial until 1995. She is the Honorary President of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation of Europe, based in Florence (Italy). She is also the chair of the Amnesty International Leadership Council, and has been published in The Boston Globe, The Chicago Sun-Times, and The New York Times.