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Joe Kennedy III

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Joe Kennedy III
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2013
Preceded byBarney Frank
Personal details
Born (1980-10-04) October 4, 1980 (age 44)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLauren Birchfield
Alma materStanford University
Harvard University
WebsiteCongressional website
Campaign website

Joseph "Joe" Patrick Kennedy III (born October 4, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, serving as a U.S. Representative since 2013. He is a former assistant district attorney who worked in the Cape and Islands and Middlesex offices. A Democrat from Brookline, he is the son of former U.S. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II and a member of the Kennedy family. He resigned as a prosecutor in early 2012 to run for for the 4th district seat then held by retiring Congressman Barney Frank. He defeated Republican opponent Sean Bielat for the seat in the November 2012 election. He was inaugurated in January 2013 and sits on the Foreign Affairs and Science, Space, and Technology committees.

Early life, education, and career

Kennedy was born to Sheila Brewster (née Rauch) and former Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II. After graduating from the Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, Kennedy attended Stanford University, where he studied industrial engineering. From 2004 to 2006, Kennedy served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, working with projects related to ecotourism.[1][2] In 2009, Kennedy graduated from Harvard Law School, where he worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. While at Harvard, he was a student of current Senator Elizabeth Warren.[3]

From 2009 to 2011, Kennedy was a prosecutor in the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office, as an assistant DA. In September 2011, he joined the Middlesex County District Attorney's office, also as an assistant DA.[4] He resigned on January 20, 2012, in preparation of the announcement that he would seek political office.[5]

2012 congressional election

Main article: Massachusetts's 4th congressional district election, 2012

In January 2012, Kennedy announced he would form an exploratory committee to run in the newly redrawn 4th congressional district in 2012.[5][6] Kennedy explained, "I will then begin to reach out to the people of the Fourth District in order to hear directly from them about the challenges they are facing and their ideas on how we can restore fairness to our system. I will make a final decision about entering the race in the weeks thereafter."[7][8]

In February 2012, he officially entered the election.[9] In an announcement video, Kennedy declared, "I believe this country was founded on a simple idea: that every person deserves to be treated fairly, by each other and by their government".[10] In the same video, Kennedy vowed to fight for a "fair job plan", a "better educational system", a "fair tax code" and a "fair housing policy".[10]

He was elected to the House of Representatives on November 6, 2012, defeating Republican candidate Sean Bielat, winning over 60% of the vote.

Congressional career

Kennedy was sworn into the 113th U.S. Congress on January 3, 2013. He was assigned to the Foreign Affairs Committee, including the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, as well as the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. He also sits on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, including the Subcommittee on Energy and the Subcommittee on Space.[11]

Personal life

Kennedy is married to Lauren Anne Birchfield.[12] The couple met in a Harvard Law class taught by future senator Elizabeth Warren.[13] Kennedy speaks fluent Spanish.[14] Kennedy's parents divorced in 1991, and his father, Joseph Patrick Kennedy II, is a former Congressman from Massachusetts. His grandfather is Robert F. Kennedy, a former U.S. Senator and U.S. Attorney General. Kennedy has a fraternal twin brother, Matthew Rauch Kennedy.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Coverdell World Wise Schools". Peace Corps. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  2. ^ "About Joe". Joekennedy2012.com. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  3. ^ "Joseph P. Kennedy III Biography: Meet The Man Who May Run For Barney Frank's Congressional Seat". The Huffington Post. January 5, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  4. ^ Jessica Venezia Pastore & Stephanie Chelf Guyotte (August 24, 2011). "Middlesex District Attorney". Middlesexda.com. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Walker, Adrian (January 5, 2012). "Joseph P. Kennedy III, Family Scion, Explores Run for Barney Frank's House Seat". Boston.com. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  6. ^ Clift, Eleanor (February 17, 2012). "Joe Kennedy III Takes the Torch from Retiring Barney Frank". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  7. ^ "Joe Kennedy III Exploring Campaign Run". The Boston Channel. January 5, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  8. ^ Miga, Andrew. "Joseph Kennedy III Takes Steps Toward A Run For Congress". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  9. ^ "Joseph Kennedy III Announcing Mass. Congress Bid". Boston.com. February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  10. ^ a b joekennedy2012 (February 15, 2012). "I'm Running". YouTube. Retrieved February 28, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Joseph P. Kennedy III". Roll Call. CQ.
  12. ^ Scott Stump (December 3, 2012). "Congressman-elect Joe Kennedy III is married". MSNBC. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  13. ^ Ted Nesi (January 3, 2012). "Joe Kennedy III met his wife in Warren's Harvard Law class". WPRI-TV. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  14. ^ "Joseph P Kennedy III aims to resurrect famous political dynasty". The Daily Telegraph. January 5, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  15. ^ Edith Zimmerman. "Keeping Up With the Kennedys". The New York Times.


U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 4th congressional district
2013–present 		Incumbent

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