Mark Kirk

Mark Kirk (2010)

Mark Steven Kirk (* 15. September 1959 in Champaign , Illinois ) is an American politician of the Republican Party . From 2011 to 2017 he represented the state of Illinois in the United States Senate .

Life

After finishing school at New Trier East High School , Kirk studied history at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and then at Cornell University . This was followed by a degree in economics and law at the London School of Economics and at Georgetown University Law Center. After completing his studies, he worked as an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserve from 1989. Kirk is a member of the Republican Party . There he joined the Republican Main Street Partnership ; an alliance of republican politicians who are more oriented towards the political center than the other more conservative party currents.

From 2001 to 2010 he was a member of the United States House of Representatives for the state of Illinois. Kirk won the Senate election on November 2, 2010, the by-election for the remaining term of his predecessor Roland Burris and for a full term beginning in January 2011. On November 29, 2010, he was sworn in as Burris' successor.

In 2001 Kirk married his colleague Kimberly Vertolli, from whom he divorced in 2009. He is a member of the United Church of Christ and lives privately in Highland Park .

In the 113th Senate, Kirk held the candy desk .

In January 2012, Kirk had to undergo surgery after suffering an ischemic stroke . After the operation, the attending doctors stated that he might not be able to move his left arm fully as a result of the stroke. He returned to Congress on January 3, 2013.

In the 2016 election , he ran for another term in the US Senate and lost to Democrat Tammy Duckworth . During the election campaign he had mocked Duckworth's origins. When Duckworth spoke of her ancestors who served in the US Army, Kirk noted that he "forgot that her ancestors came over from Thailand to serve George Washington." He later apologized for this comment, which was viewed as racist by observers. Kirk resigned from the Senate on January 3, 2017.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Chicago Tribune: Doctors 'hopeful' after Sen. Kirk undergoes surgery for stroke ( Memento of the original from September 8, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (January 23, 2012) 
2. ↑ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/live_results/2016_general/senate/
3. ↑ Article in USA today

Web links

Commons : Mark Kirk  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Mark Kirk in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)