Teresa Heinz: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Teresa heinz kerry family.gif|left|thumb|The child Teresa Simões-Ferreira with her family]] |
[[Image:Teresa heinz kerry family.gif|left|thumb|The child Teresa Simões-Ferreira with her family]] |
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'''Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira''' (more simply, '''Teresa Simões-Ferreira''') was born to Portuguese parents in [[Mozambique]], which was a colony of [[Portugal]] at the time. Her father was José Simões-Ferreira, and her mother was Irene Thierstein. |
'''Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira''' (more simply, '''Teresa Simões-Ferreira''') was born to Portuguese parents in [[Mozambique]], which was a colony of [[Portugal]] at the time. Her father was Dr. José Simões-Ferreira, and her mother was Irene Thierstein. |
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She grew up in Mozambique's capital, Lourenço Marques (now called [[Maputo]]). |
She grew up in Mozambique's capital, Lourenço Marques (now called [[Maputo]]). Her father would, however, often bring her along on his calls into the [[Africa]]n bush, where she witnessed how those of lesser means lived. |
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She earned a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[romance languages|Romance Language]]s and literature from the [[University of the Witwatersrand]] in [[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]]. She graduated from the Interpreters School of the [[University of Geneva]] ([[Switzerland]]) before moving to the [[United States]] to work at the [[United Nations]] as a translator. She is fluent in five languages: [[English language|English]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and her native [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]. |
She earned a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[romance languages|Romance Language]]s and literature from the [[University of the Witwatersrand]] in [[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]]. She graduated from the Interpreters School of the [[University of Geneva]] ([[Switzerland]]) before moving to the [[United States]] to work at the [[United Nations]] as a translator. She is fluent in five languages: [[English language|English]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and her native [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]. |
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Revision as of 02:54, 28 July 2004
Teresa Heinz Kerry (born October 5, 1938), is a philanthropist and the wife of United States Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry.
The Beginnings
Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira (more simply, Teresa Simões-Ferreira) was born to Portuguese parents in Mozambique, which was a colony of Portugal at the time. Her father was Dr. José Simões-Ferreira, and her mother was Irene Thierstein.
She grew up in Mozambique's capital, Lourenço Marques (now called Maputo). Her father would, however, often bring her along on his calls into the African bush, where she witnessed how those of lesser means lived.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Romance Languages and literature from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She graduated from the Interpreters School of the University of Geneva (Switzerland) before moving to the United States to work at the United Nations as a translator. She is fluent in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, and her native Portuguese.
Next First Lady.
Marriages
Simões-Ferreira was married to Senator John Heinz of the ketchup Heinzes in 1966. They had three sons: John, André and Christopher.
She met John Kerry in 1990 at an Earth Day rally, after being introduced by Senator Heinz. This was the only known time that Teresa and John Kerry met while she was married to Heinz. After John Heinz died in an airplane accident in 1991, Mrs. Heinz inherited his vast fortune. She and John Kerry ran into each other again at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 at a United Nations sponsored environmental summit. Their courtship began in 1993. They were married in 1995.
Philanthropy
Heinz Kerry is the chair of The Howard Heinz Endowment and the Heinz Family Philanthropies (collectively, the Heinz foundations), disbursing money to various social and environmental causes. She laudably assists the community of Pittsburgh, where the Heinz family has had so many financial and family connections.
In recognition of her philanthropy and activism, Ms. Heinz Kerry has received ten honorary doctorate degrees from the following institutions:
- Bank Street College of Education
- Beloit College
- Carlow College
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Clark University
- Drexel University
- Medical College of Pennsylvania
- Pine Manor College
- University of Massachusetts
- Washington and Jefferson College
She was awarded the Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism in 2003. She has been elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
She was also a trustee of New England Prep School, St. Paul's School, where her husband John Kerry attended.
Wealth
Heinz Kerry is the life estate beneficiary or outright beneficiary of her husband's trusts, making her either extremely wealthy in her own name, or powerful as a trustee of Heinz family wealth. Sen. Kerry is wealthy in his own name, though not to the same degree, since he became a trust fund beneficiary of his mother's and Forbes family trusts.
To date, she has refused to disclose her personal tax returns citing family trusts and privacy, though the spouse of 1984 Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro ultimately had been convinced to release his returns before. The criticism stems from questions about the sources of Sen. Kerry's spending, his first wife, second wife, or mother's trusts.
Politics
It is believed that she became a United States citizen after her marriage to Sen. Heinz, presumably after she retired from her United Nations translator job, since she claims to have voted for the first time for President in the 1972 election between Richard Nixon and George McGovern.
Presumably because Sen. Heinz was a Republican, his widow was a registered Republican for most of her voting career. In the past year or so, she changed her registration to Democrat. It is unknown what registration her sons hold, or if and when they also changed registrations. However, Chris Heinz introduced her at the Democratic National Convention in July of 2004, and spoke of his pleasure at working for his stepfather's cause.
Should Senator Kerry be elected President, Mrs. Heinz Kerry will be the first foreign-born First Lady of the United States since the British-born Louisa Adams, wife of President John Quincy Adams, in the 1820's. Mrs. Adams was the first and (so far) only first lady born outside the U.S.
Public Relations
Heinz Kerry has a reputation in the media as a very blunt personality, unwilling to spin her comments for public consumption. This perception has led to a good deal of attention being paid to Heinz Kerry; she has drawn opposition from those who disagree with her comments, while others support her willingness to display her own opinion (in contrast with the usual politician's wife, who is expected to master "The Adoring Gaze").
Right before the Democratic National Convention in late July, 2004; Mrs. Heinz Kerry hit her first public relations snafu when being questioned by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter Colin McNickle.
Earlier that day, at a reception at the Massachusetts Steakhouse, Mrs. Heinz Kerry was videotaped saying, "We need to turn back some of the creeping, un-Pennsylvanian and sometimes un-American traits that are coming into some of our politics." [1] When questioned by the editor of a conservative newspaper as to why she had said that political conventions were "un-American," she repeatedly stated that she did not say that term. After conferring with colleagues, Heinz Kerry told McNickle that she did not say what he was alleging, and that he could "shove it." She also accused the newspaper he worked for of being a "right-wing rag", accusing him of media bias because the paper was owned by a prominent conservative figure.
The incident, which happened one day before the Convention was to commence, spurned criticism in many circles but was publicly endorsed by her husband and other Democrats. Colleague Hillary Rodham Clinton said that many people around the country were thinking, "You go, girl!" [2]
Friends and Colleagues
Teresa Heinz Kerry and her husband are good friends with Arizona Representative Ed Pastor. It is said that she was a colleague of Madeleine Albright, the former United States Secretary of State.