On July 24, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Caroline Kennedy to be the 29th Ambassador of the United States of America to Japan. She was confirmed by the Senate on Oct. 16 and assumed duty as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan following the presentation of her credentials to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor on Nov. 19, 2013. Ambassador Kennedy is the first female U.S. Ambassador to Japan.
Prior to her nomination, Ambassador Kennedy worked as a lawyer, author, and editor. She has authored, co-authored, or edited more than a dozen books, and has had articles published in the New York Times, Newsweek, and Time Magazine.
Ambassador Kennedy has committed her life to public service, including in education, for example serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and Honorary Director of The Fund for Public Schools, and as Chief Executive of the Office of Strategic Partnerships of the New York City Department of Education. She has also served on the board of numerous non-profit organizations, boards, and foundations including as President & Director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Director of the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Ambassador Kennedy also served as a member of the Obama for America Vice Presidential Search Committee in 2008.
Ambassador Kennedy holds a B.A. degree in Fine Arts from Harvard University and a J.D. degree from Columbia University. She is the daughter of John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States of America, and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. She is married to Dr. Edwin Arthur Schlossberg, an artist and designer. Ambassador Kennedy and Dr. Schlossberg have three adult children – Rose Kennedy Schlossberg, Tatiana Celia Kennedy Schlossberg, and John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg.