Background
Smedinghoff grew up in River Forest, Illinois, a suburb about 10 miles west of Chicago. She was the daughter of an attorney and the second of four children.
Smedinghoff grew up in River Forest, Illinois, a suburb about 10 miles west of Chicago. She was the daughter of an attorney and the second of four children.
She attended Fenwick High School, followed by Johns Hopkins University, where she majored in international studies and became a key organizer of the university"s annual Foreign Affairs Symposium in 2008.
Her first assignment for the foreign service was in Caracas, Venezuela, and she volunteered for the Afghanistan assignment after that. Smedinghoff was an up-and-coming employee of the United States State Department, who garnered praise from the highest ranks. She was to finish her Afghanistan assignment as a press officer in July.
Already fluent in Spanish, she was gearing up to learn Arabic, first for a year in the United States. and then in Cairo (Egypt), before a two-year assignment in Algeria.
United States Secretary of State John Kerry said at a news conference in Turkey that Smedinghoff was "vivacious, smart" and "capable." Smedinghoff had assisted Kerry during a visit to Afghanistan two weeks ago. He also described Smedinghoff as "a selfless, idealistic woman who woke up yesterday morning and set out to bring textbooks to school children, to bring them knowledge."
Smedinghoff is the first American diplomat to die on the job since the 2012 attack on the United States. diplomatic installation in Benghazi, Libya.
The 25-year-old Foreign Service Officer was killed in a car bomb blast in southern Afghanistan. Smedinghoff was one of five Americans killed in a suicide bomb attack in Qalat, Zabul Province.
Working as a press officer for the United States. Embassy in Kabul, she was helping Afghan journalists cover an event at a school where the local Provincial Reconstruction Team was to donate math and science books
According to a press officer at the United States. Embassy in Kabul, Anne absolutely loved the work she was doing. Her family and friends established a memorial fund at Johns Hopkins University.