Smedinghoff family via Reuters

Anne Smedinghoff, a 25-year-old diplomat from River Forest, Illinois, was killed along with four other Americans in a car bomb blast in Afghanistan on April 6.

Secretary of State John Kerry was due on Monday to meet the parents of Anne Smedinghoff, the American diplomat killed in a car bombing in Afghanistan earlier this month.

Kerry was scheduled to meet them in Chicago after flying back from Japan following a six-nation tour in Asia dominated by the North Korean crisis.

Smedinghoff, 25, was on her way to deliver books to a school in Qalat, Zabul province, when she and four other Americans were killed by a car bomb on April 6. An American civilian was also killed in a separate attack on the same day.

Kerry, speaking in Tokyo, said that everyone he had met with in recent days in the State Department “feels this enormously.”

“It's all the promise of a young person with all of the idealism and energy, enthusiasm suddenly snuffed out in the quest of high ideals and great values,” he said. 

“I think that … is not a death in vain. It's a loss. It's a horrible loss. It's unfathomable as a parent,” he said. “But it's a great contribution and sacrifice for our country. And it is in the highest spirit of tradition and service of the State Department and the Foreign Service, and indeed of America, in our efforts to try to help other people be able to share in the blessings of life that we experience every day.”

“So I think that people should celebrate her life and really show their respect for what she was trying to do,” he added. “She inspired a lot of people and even in her loss she's an inspiration.”

Kerry met Smedinghoff, whose business card read "Assistant Information Officer," several weeks ago when she worked as his control officer during his recent trip to Afghanistan.

Smedinghoff previously served in Venezuela.

In an email to the Washington Post, Smedinghoff's parents said their daughter "was always looking for opportunities to reach out and help to make a difference in the lives of those living in a country ravaged by war."

They added: "We are consoled knowing that she was doing what she loved, and that she was serving her country by helping to make a positive difference in the world."

Related:

'She was doing what she loved': Young diplomat among 6 Americans killed in Afghanistan

'We have to go': Afghans ready to flee country as foreign troops withdraw

U.S. Senate Photographic Studio

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan swears in Secretary of State John Kerry on Feb. 1. They were joined by his wife Teresa, daughter Vanessa and brother Cameron.

Incoming Secretary of State John Kerry had a busy first weekend on the job, calling Palestinian, Israeli, Turkish, Canadian and Mexican officials.

In his conversation Sunday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Kerry said President Barack Obama "is very interested in the peace process and aware of the economic hardships of the Palestinian people," Abbas spokesman Nabel Abu Rdeneh said.

Abu Rdeneh also said that Kerry said he would visit the region for further talks with Abbas "to preserve the political path." No time was set for the visit.

The State Department said Kerry spoke with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Saturday about the formation of the country's new government, and that the two "exchanged views" on the peace process and regional matters.

Also on his first full day as America's top diplomat, Kerry:

—received an update from Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu about the investigation into Friday's suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.

—spoke with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird about Iran, Mali and the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would run from Canada to Texas.

—discussed with Mexico's foreign minister, Jose Antonio Meade, the deadly blast at the headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company.

—had lunch with George Shultz, secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan.

Kerry was sworn in Friday afternoon, succeeding Hillary Rodham Clinton in Obama's Cabinet.

--Reporting by The Associated Press

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Kerry faces new battles as he takes foreign policy helm from Clinton

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It’s not just Benghazi anymore.

One of the most controversial energy projects in the nation also has become a flash point in the drama surrounding who may become the next secretary of state – and it’s coming from the left instead of the right.

Back on Nov. 28, “OnEarth,” published by the Natural Resources Defense Council, dug into U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice’s financial disclosures and found that she and her husband have a stake in TransCanada, the company pushing for the Keystone XL Pipeline to be built.

NRDC officials say it's an important issue that must be discussed during the nomination process. But the timing of the report raises questions, as it is being surfaced by an environmental activist community that has previously given support to another potential secretary of state candidate – Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

The decision on whether to approve the pipeline goes through the State Department.

“If confirmed by the Senate, one of Rice’s first duties likely would be consideration, and potentially approval, of the controversial mega-project,” Scott Dodd at “OnEarth” wrote. “Rice's financial holdings could raise questions about her status as a neutral decision maker.”

Dodd noted that “Rice owns stock valued between $300,000 and $600,000 in TransCanada, the company seeking a federal permit to transport tar sands crude 1,700 miles to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, crossing fragile Midwest ecosystems and the largest freshwater aquifer in North America.”

Bill McKibben, an anti-pipeline activist, told the publication: “It’s really amazing that they’re considering someone for Secretary of State who has millions invested in these companies. The State Department has been rife with collusion with the Canadian pipeline builders, and it’s really distressing to have any sense that that might continue to go on.”

Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, the NRDC's director of international programs, sounded a less strident tone a day later: "What's most important is that she rid herself of her holdings in TransCanada and other tar sands-related companies, and we're confident she will do that ... What's most important is that we have a good, thorough review done.”

Danielle Droitsch, a senior attorney for the NRDC and director of the Canada Project, told First Read: “We think Ambassador Rice has the credentials to be secretary of state, but if she were nominated, and then appointed, these holdings would have to be addressed.”

She added that “high-level officials dealing with Keystone should not have any conflicts of interest.”

The likelihood is that, if nominated, Rice will have to divest herself of her TransCanada investment to avoid a conflict of interest.

The environmental group’s effort to shed light on Rice’s financial interest in TransCanada could be just an attempt, if Rice is nominated, to get a “thorough review” and make sure it has a staunch ally in trying to thwart the project, as Casey-Lefkowitz said.

But could it also be a signal that the NRDC prefers another candidate for the job – Kerry, the other of the final two candidates reportedly being considered for the post?

After all, environmental groups have strongly supported Kerry in the past and have a long working relationship with him. Like they would for most Democrats in a presidential election, for example, the NRDC and the League of Conservation Voters, among others, ran ads in the 2004 election boosting Kerry.

LCV even endorsed Kerry before the New Hampshire Democratic primary that year, although it has notably not spoken out about Rice.

Droitsch, however, would not address whom the NRDC prefers for the job.

“We’re trying to signal that the pipeline decision has to be conflict-free,” Droitsch said. “That would pertain to any potential nominee. The president has the prerogative to nominate the person he believes is best for the position.”

The Senate will then raise questions, however, she said. And “now is important to raise the issue ... We want to make sure that anyone who’s being considered would be free of those conflicts. That’s our primary interest right now.”

The NRDC, which has been very involved in efforts to block Keystone, is the environmental interest group most pressing the issue of Rice’s financials.

But others might not be as keen to see Kerry leave Capitol Hill. After all, consider that green groups already spent a lot of money trying to oust Republican Scott Brown from the Senate – and were successful.

But if Kerry becomes secretary of state (or even defense secretary), his seat would become vacant, raising the potential for a costly and competitive special election.

“Who cares if the U.N. ambassador has a TransCanada stock. Who cares if the head of the FDA has TransCanada stock,” said a Democratic strategist and ally of the administration who is a veteran of confirmation battles.

“If she [Rice] were to be nominated, she would go through a process by which we look for financials conflicts. Maybe this stock would be identified as something that posed a conflict, and she would sell," the strategist said. "But she hasn't gone through that process, because she's not a nominee to anything. If they want to say that if she is the nominee, she should sell the stock, that's fine. But you can't legitimately hit her for having it now. And that is likely why NRDC backed off and no other environmental groups have piled-on.”

What really is going on here likely has less to do with Rice and whether she should ascend to secretary of state, and more with the NRDC leveraging pressure on the president and the administration to make sure the pipeline is rejected again once it comes up for approval. And that could be soon.

The next step in that approval phase, in fact, could come as early as next week, Droitsch said. TransCanada has applied for a shortened pipeline in hopes of having that approved – something the NRDC strongly opposes. A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement could be released by the State Department as early as next week, Droitsch said.

“It is critically important for there to be independent decision-makers, free of conflict of interest, who can take an independent view,” she said.

She then tied the administration’s decision on the pipeline to climate change, an issue that has regained prominence as a result of Hurricane Sandy. In the days following Sandy’s landfall, in fact, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Barack Obama for his leadership on climate change.

How Obama decides on the pipeline “signals where the U.S. is headed in terms of importing dirty fuels, inconsistent with an administration that is committed to fighting climate change,” Droitsch said.

“We’re confident President Obama understands the seriousness around the issues surrounding this pipeline. Approving it sends the wrong signal about our country’s commitment to climate change. Yes, he’s under a lot of pressure, but the public is very concerned about this. It’s not a decision I know he’ll view lightly.”