Early Life
Born in Inverness, and raised as a Roman Catholic, Kennedy was educated at Lochaber High School, in Fort William. There, he was known for taking part in the school's mock elections that ran at the same time as the real elections.
Kennedy went on to study for a Master of Arts degree in Politics and Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. At university, he became politically active, joining the Social Democrats (SDP), as well as the Dialectic Society. He was elected president of the Glasgow University Union (GUU). The GUU was the last all-male student union in the UK and became open to men and women during his term of office.
In 1982, Kennedy won The Observer Mace debating competition, speaking with Clark McGinn and representing Glasgow University. In 1995, the competition was renamed The John Smith Memorial Mace and is now run by The English-Speaking Union.
Upon graduation in 1982, he went to work for BBC Scotland as a journalist, and later received a Fulbright Fellowship. This allowed him to carry out research at Indiana University in the United States, on the speeches and writings of Roy Jenkins.
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