Name: John F. Kerry.

Age/Birth Date: 58; Dec. 11, 1943.

Education: Bachelor's degree, Yale University, 1966; law degree, Boston College, 1976.

Experience: Navy officer, awarded Silver Star, Bronze Star, three Purple Hearts for Vietnam War service, 1966-70; spokesman, Vietnam Veterans Against The War, 1971; Middlesex County (Mass.) prosecutor, 1976-78; lawyer in private practice, 1979-1982; Massachusetts lieutenant governor, 1983-85; U.S. Senate, 1985-present.

Family: Wife, Teresa Heinz; two children, three stepchildren.

Quote: "I believe that now more than ever our party and our country needs to get back to dreaming things that never were and asking why not."