 | A major contributor to this article appears to have aclose connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularlyneutral point of view. Please discuss further on thetalk page.See ouradvice if the article is about you and read ourscam warning in case someone asks for money to edit this article.(April 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Paul Kirk | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2009 | |
| United States Senator fromMassachusetts | |
| In office September 24, 2009 – February 4, 2010 | |
| Appointed by | Deval Patrick |
| Preceded by | Ted Kennedy |
| Succeeded by | Scott Brown |
| Chair of theDemocratic National Committee | |
| In office February 2, 1985 – February 10, 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Manatt |
| Succeeded by | Ron Brown |
| Treasurer of theDemocratic National Committee | |
| In office June 29, 1983 – February 1, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Curry |
| Succeeded by | Sharon Pratt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul Grattan Kirk Jr. (1938-01-18)January 18, 1938 (age 88) Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | William Henry O'Connell (great-uncle) Bill Cleary (brother-in-law) |
| Education | Harvard University (BA,JD) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1960–1968 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | United States Army Reserve |
Kirk on former Sen.Edward Brooke and bipartisanship after Brooke was awarded theCongressional Gold Medal. Recorded October 29, 2009 | |
Paul Grattan Kirk Jr. (born January 18, 1938) is an American lawyer and politician who served as aUnited States Senator fromMassachusetts from 2009 to 2010, having been appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death ofTed Kennedy. From 1985 to 1989, he chaired theDemocratic National Committee (DNC).
He served as co-chairman of theCommission on Presidential Debates, the chairman of the board of directors of theJohn F. Kennedy Library Foundation,[1] and a member of the board of directors of theEdward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.[2]
Kirk, one of five children, was born inNewton, Massachusetts. He is the son of Josephine Elizabeth (née O'Connell) and JudgePaul G. Kirk Sr., an associate justice of theSupreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.[3] His father was of Irish and English descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry.[4] He attendedThe Roxbury Latin School and graduated fromSt. Sebastian's School in 1956,Harvard College in 1960, andHarvard Law School in 1964. In college, Kirk took part in theReserve Officers' Training Corps program.[5][6] He received his commission as asecond lieutenant in 1960 and served on active duty for six months to complete his initial training.[7] Kirk remained in theUnited States Army Reserve until 1968, when he was discharged as acaptain.[6][8]
Kirk was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1965.[9]
Kirk is affiliated with the law firm Sullivan & Worcester LLP of Boston, Massachusetts, and was a partner from 1977 to 1990.[1] He is the chairman and chief executive officer of Kirk & Associates, Inc., a business advisory and consulting firm located in Boston. He is also a member of the board of directors of theHartford Financial Services Group, Inc.,Rayonier, Incorporated, and Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. He was a board member ofITT Corporation from 1989 to 1997 and Bradley Real Estate, Inc. from 1991 to 2000.[1]Kirk is a trustee ofStonehill College. He also served as a trustee ofSt. Sebastian's School from 1992 to 2004 and again from 2006 to 2009. He is past chairman of the Harvard Board of Overseers Nominating Committee and is the chairman of the Harvard Overseers Committee to Visit the Department of Athletics.
From 1992 to 2001 Kirk was the chairman of theNational Democratic Institute for International Affairs.
Kirk was a special assistant to SenatorTed Kennedy from 1969 to 1977. In 1983, he became treasurer of the nationalDemocratic Party.[10][11]
In 1985 Kirk was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee despite opposition from Virginia GovernorChuck Robb and a group of southern state Democrats who went on to form theDemocratic Leadership Council.[12][13] He caused a brief stir when he suggestedmeans testing forSocial Security, but he quickly withdrew his remarks.[14] In the 1986 mid-term elections, under Kirk's chairmanship, theDemocrats regained control of theSenate, which had had aRepublican majority since the 1980 elections. Kirk resigned shortly after Republican vice presidentGeorge H. W. Bush's victory over Massachusetts GovernorMichael Dukakis in the1988 presidential election. He was succeeded as DNC chairman byRon Brown. During his time as DNC Chair, he promoted and executed a successful plan to take over the planning of presidential debates.
On May 2, 2008, Paul Kirk formally pledged hissuperdelegate nomination vote in the summer 2008 national Democratic convention toBarack Obama.[15]
In August 2009, SenatorTed Kennedy died, leaving a vacancy in the Massachusetts Senate delegation. Five years earlier in 2004, theMassachusetts General Court had withdrawn the authority of the governor to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy by appointment, to prevent the then-GovernorMitt Romney, aRepublican, from appointing a fellow Republican to fill the remainder of DemocratJohn Kerry's Senate term, if Kerry were to win the2004 presidential election. The legislation was enacted over Romney's veto.[16][17][18][19][20] At that time, Senator Ted Kennedy successfully made personal appeals to Massachusetts Democratic legislative leaders to pass the bill, which had been stalled prior to his request.[21] The new law called for a special election months later to fill the vacancy. However, Kennedy's death denied Democrats in the U.S. Senate the 60‑vote supermajority required to endfilibusters. Given the urgency of and narrow partisan support for some legislation before Congress, most notablyhealth care reform, Democratic lawmakers and liberal pundits called for an interim senator to be appointed so that Massachusetts would have full Senate representation until the special election; Kennedy himself had requested such a change before he died. In September, the General Court passed legislation restoring the governor's power to make interim appointments to serve until the special election stipulated in the earlier legislation is held, over multiple bipartisan concerns of hypocrisy.[22][23][24][25][26] It was reported that Kennedy's two sons,Patrick J. Kennedy andEdward Kennedy Jr.;[27] and his widow,Victoria Reggie Kennedy,[25] had all expressed their preference for Kirk and communicated this preference to GovernorDeval Patrick.[28][29][30] Governor Patrick announced Kirk's appointment on September 24, 2009.[9][31][32] Kirk pledged he would not be a candidate in the special election, which was won by RepublicanScott Brown.[33][34] Kirk was sworn into office on September 25, 2009.[35]
On September 24, 2009, members of theMassachusetts Republican Party filed suit seeking to block the appointment of Kirk, saying that under commonwealth law, the law giving Gov. Patrick the right to appoint Kirk should not take effect for 90 days. A hearing was scheduled for the morning of September 25 to resolve the issue.[36] A Suffolk Superior Court judge dismissed the case the same day, and Kirk took the oath of office as senator that afternoon.[37][38]
On January 19, 2010, Scott Brown, a Republican state senator, was elected to serve the balance of Kennedy's term. Although Kirk was only appointed until his successor was elected,[39] he continued to sit, and voted on the Senate floor on January 20, 2010,[40] without any objection from Senate staff or Senate Republicans. This situation is analogous to 1993, whenKay Bailey Hutchison was elected on June 5, butBob Krueger continued to hold the seat until she took the oath of office on June 14, but was different from when Ted Kennedy was allowed to be sworn into office the day after his special election to the Senate in 1962.[41][42] Kirk was present at his successor's swearing-in ceremony on February 4, 2010.
Kirk supportedBernie Sanders in the2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[43] Kirk has written opinion columns forThe Boston Globe.[44]
In 1974, he married Gail Loudermilk. They reside inMarstons Mills, a village ofBarnstable, Massachusetts.Kirk is a great-nephew of the lateCardinal William O'Connell and the brother-in-law of ice hockey player and coachBill Cleary.[45][46][47]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chair of theDemocratic National Committee 1985–1989 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Massachusetts 2009–2010 Served alongside:John Kerry | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Senator | Order of precedence of the United States | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Senator |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | ||
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
