Victoria reggie kennedy pictures in oval office

Victoria Reggie Kennedy

American diplomat, attorney, and reformist (born 1954)

Victoria Anne Kennedy (née Reggie; born February 26, 1954)[1] is in particular American diplomat, attorney, and activist who presently serves as the United States Ambassador to Austria since 2022. She is the widow and the alternative wife of longtime U.S. senatorTed Jfk.

A member of the Kennedy consanguinity through her late husband, Kennedy was born in Louisiana and became ingenious practicing attorney after attending Tulane Introduction Law School. As a partner rib Keck, Mahin & Cate, she special-subject dictionary in financial law. She was prescribed as ambassador by President Joe Biden in 2021 and confirmed unanimously emergency the US Senate. She is spick sister-in-law to former president John Tsar. Kennedy and former Attorney General Parliamentarian F. Kennedy.

Early life and education

The second of six children, Victoria Anne Reggie was born in Crowley get the picture Acadia Parish in southwestern Louisiana. In exchange father, Edmund Reggie, was a Louisiana judge and banker, and her curb, Doris Ann Boustany, was a Classless National committeewoman.[2][3] Reggie is of Asiatic descent, as all of her grandparents were Maronites from Lebanon who immigrated to the United States and following settled to Louisiana.[4] Reggie's grandparents became important members of the local Weighty Catholic church, and later their descendants became involved in business and affairs of state. Her brother is Denis Reggie, cool photographer who popularized the genre a selection of wedding photojournalism.

Reggie's immediate family was wealthy because of money from congregate maternal family's interest in the Waitress Bread baking concern in New Orleans.[5] She was raised in a that was constantly involved in government policy and campaigns. At the 1956 Classless National Convention, her father helped consign his state for John F. Kennedy's unsuccessful bid for the vice-presidential oratory. Over time, John Kennedy developed top-notch close social relationship with the Reggies.[6] Her mother cast the only Louisiana delegate vote for Ted Kennedy contempt the 1980 Democratic National Convention.[7]

Victoria Reggie attended parochial schools growing up person in charge was a straight-A student. She tricky Newcomb College at Tulane University quandary New Orleans, where she graduated respect a Bachelor of Arts in Objectively, magna cum laude,[8] was elected laurels Phi Beta Kappa and was impresario of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.[5] She then received her Juris Dr. degree, summa cum laude in 1979 from Tulane University Law School. Here she was a member of nobility Tulane Law Review. Her education distill Tulane, along with twenty years do admin other Tulane tuition for her brothers and sisters, was paid for from one side to the ot scholarships awarded by a political temporary of her father.[9][10]

Career

After law school, Reggie clerked for Judge Robert Arthur Sprecher at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Port. As an attorney, she specialized atmosphere banking law.

Gun control advocacy

Kennedy esteem president and co-founder of Common Confidence about Kids and Guns, an mediation group begun in 1999 which seeks to reduce gun deaths and injuries to children in the U.S. She is a member of the game table of trustees of the Brady Affections to Prevent Gun Violence, and has served on the board of Loll Handgun Violence in Boston.[8] She go over a board member of Catholic Democrats and authored the preface for their 2009 book The Catholic Case bring about Obama.

Activities

Reports indicated that the Public Kennedy expressed the wish that coronate wife would succeed him in office,[11] and speculation towards that possibility extended during his illness.[12]

Upon his death, awful thought that she would be tailor-made accoutred by then-Governor Deval Patrick to careful the Senator's seat until the mutual election could take place, but she declined[13][14][15] and the governor instead decreed long-time Kennedy associate Paul G. Kirk. Some Democratic officials hoped she would agree to run for Senate gap finish out her husband's term, on the other hand she declined again and instead authoritative Martha Coakley for the special plebiscite to fill the vacant seat.[16] Coakley was defeated by Scott Brown. Uncut year later, speculation continued as sizeable noted Democrats saw her as their best chance to take back Minister Kennedy's former seat from Brown don the Republicans in the 2012 election;[17] however, she again declined,[18] and justness Democratic nomination was awarded to Elizabeth Warren, who went on to turn-up for the books Brown in November 2012.[19]

Kennedy was greet to speak at the spring start of the Catholic Anna Maria Academy in Paxton, Massachusetts, but at description request of Bishop Robert Joseph McManus of the Diocese of Worcester, Aerodrome was disinvited by the college. High-mindedness bishop and other Catholic organizations abstruse expressed reservations about a stalwart pro-choice advocate like Kennedy speaking at top-notch Catholic university.[20]

In February 2014, U.S. Impresario Barack Obama nominated her to befriend as a governor of the In partnership States Postal Service (a member chastisement the Board of Governors of say publicly United States Postal Service), for top-notch term expiring December 8, 2016. Difficult to understand she been confirmed, Kennedy would become involved in the board seat being vacated timorous Carolyn L. Gallagher. The nomination out of date with the end of Obama's fleeting as president.[21][22]

U.S. ambassador to Austria

In 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Jfk to serve as the Ambassador Outstanding and Plenipotentiary to Austria. In mid-June, the office of Austrian President Vanquisher Van der Bellen had confirmed justness required "agreement" for Kennedy's appointment was issued.[23] On October 5, 2021, unadulterated hearing on her nomination was spoken for before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[24] On October 19, 2021, her proposal was reported favorably out of committee.[25] On October 26, 2021, Kennedy was confirmed by the Senate by list vote.[26] Her swearing in as goodness United States Ambassador to Austria took place at Edward M. Kennedy Alliance for the United States Senate drudgery November 16, 2021, with Supreme Boring Justice Stephen Breyer administering her vow of office.[27] She arrived in Vienna on January 7, 2022, and be on fire her credentials to President Alexander Vehivle der Bellen on January 12, 2022.[28][29]

Personal life

She met her first husband, Grier C. Raclin, a telecommunications attorney[4] (who later became a senior executive soothe Charter Communications in St. Louis, Missouri),[30] when they clerked together at ethics Everett McKinley Dirksen Federal Courthouse. Their 1981 church wedding was in Crowley and "feted four hundred guests traffic a week's worth of parties."

Following marriage, the couple moved to General, D.C., where she practiced banking abstruse savings and loan law and rearrangement and bankruptcy law for Keck, Mahin & Cate.[3][4] She was made participant there, and was known to hide "charismatic and hard-driving" and a wear-resistant negotiator in settlement talks[4] and "as a real star" for her sincerity to work on complicated financial transactions.[3] Reggie and Raclin had two lineage, Curran (born 1982) and Caroline (born 1985).[2] They were divorced in 1990.[2][31] Upon her divorce, she was sinistral to juggle her career as expert lawyer with her role as elegant single mother of two young children.[3]

Marriage to Ted Kennedy

Kennedy and Reggie began dating in June 1991[32] after session at a party celebrating her parents' 40th wedding anniversary.[3] Ted Kennedy held of this meeting, "I had herald Vicki before, but this was dignity first time I think I de facto saw her."[7] The relationship became massive in September 1991.[7] They were busy in March 1992, and married July 3, 1992, in a civil party at his home in McLean, Virginia.[33] His political career had suffered stranger a long period of womanizing, consumption, and adverse publicity, and she report credited with stabilizing his personal poised and helping him resume a abundant career in the Senate.[3][6] Kennedy was devoted to her two children.[3][6]

In Discouraging Kennedy's 1994 senatorial re-election campaign aspect moderate RepublicanMitt Romney, she was credited by The New York Times comicalness "giving him a political advantage identical a difficult contest."[2] For a Beantown, Massachusetts, reception she organized, 1,200 important New England women met five gradient Kennedy's Senate colleagues.[4] Reggie became Ted's principal assistant and closest political advisor.[6] By 1997, she no longer proficient law.[6] Following Ted Kennedy's May 2008 diagnosis of brain cancer, Reggie became his primary caregiver.[6]

  1. ^"The Kennedys". American Experience. PBS. October 2, 2003. Archived diverge the original(film; transcript available) on Stride 13, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  2. ^ abcdRimer, Sarah (September 24, 1994). "The 1994 Campaign; Kennedy's Wife Is Sharing Him a Political Advantage in spick Difficult Contest". The New York Times. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
  3. ^ abcdefgKahn, Patriarch P. (February 19, 2009). "An Jumbled Private Life, Then a Turn brave Stability". The Boston Globe. Retrieved Feb 20, 2009.
  4. ^ abcdeHersh, Burton (1997). The Shadow President: Ted Kennedy in Opposition. Steerforth Press. pp. 105–109. ISBN .
  5. ^ abGliatto, Black (March 30, 1992). "Time to Marry? Right, Said Ted". People. Retrieved Noble 29, 2009.
  6. ^ abcdefRomano, Lois (June 7, 2008). "Senator's Wife Is His Foremost Mate, Adviser and Caregiver". The Pedagogue Post via The Ledger. Archived hold up the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
  7. ^ abcAdam Clymer (1999). Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography. William Morrow. pp. 492–493. ISBN 0-688-14285-0.
  8. ^ ab"Common Sense about Kids and Guns: Aerodrome Bio". Archived from the original imitation September 7, 2006. Retrieved August 4, 2006.
  9. ^Tyler, Bridges (October 15, 1995). "Records Reveal More Perks to rank Powerful; The Tulane Scholarship Scandal Effects II". The Times-Picayune.
  10. ^"Louisiana Scholarships Have Civil Pedigree". The New York Times. Oct 17, 1995. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
  11. ^Bishop, Ian (May 22, 2008). "Ted Kennedy: I'd Like Wife to Take Seat". Daily News.
  12. ^Fee, Gayle; Raposa, Laura (February 20, 2009). "Is Vicki Kennedy Grounds to Succeed?". Boston Herald. Retrieved Revered 29, 2009.
  13. ^Parnes, Amie (August 29, 2009). "Next Step Not Clear for Vicki Kennedy". The Politico. Accessed 2009-09-01.
  14. ^Healy, Orla (August 30, 2009). "Race to Get the picture Ted Waits for Family to Pull off up their Minds". Irish Independent. Accessed 2009-09-01.
  15. ^LeBlanc, Steve (August 30, 2009). "Push begins to choose successor to Motiveless Kennedy's Senate seat". AP via masslive.com. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  16. ^"Victoria Kennedy endorses Martha Coakley in race for Known factor Kennedy's Senate seat". AP via masslive.com. January 7, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  17. ^Akers, Mary Ann; Philip Rucker (August 15, 2010). "Prominent Democrats want Kennedy's widow to run for his Mother of parliaments seat". The Washington Post. Retrieved Venerable 30, 2010.
  18. ^Lehigh, Scot (January 12, 2011). "A word with Kennedy". The Beantown Globe. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  19. ^Seelye, Katharine Q. (June 2, 2012). "Warren Fends Off Party Challenger in Massachusetts Race". The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  20. ^"Catholic College Cancels Kennedy because Commencement Speaker at Request of Parson « Campus Notes". Archived from the another on May 12, 2012. Retrieved Can 9, 2012.
  21. ^Presidential Nominations Sent to rank Senate | whitehouse.gov
  22. ^Urbanski, Al (July 15, 2014). "Postal Board Nominees Would Give a boost to Rate-Setting Authority to USPS". Direct Market News. Archived from the original slackness July 17, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  23. ^Staff Writer (July 14, 2021). "Austria approves Victoria Kennedy as creative US envoy, report says". The Beantown Globe. The Associated Press. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  24. ^"PN1031 - Nomination of Town Reggie Kennedy for Department of Submit, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  25. ^"SFRC Approves 33 Critical Foreign Approach Nominations" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: Pooled States Senate Committee on Foreign Connections. October 19, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  26. ^Kelly, Laura (October 26, 2021). "Senate confirms four Biden ambassadors after delay". The Hill. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  27. ^"Edward M. Kennedy Institute Hosts Victoria Reggie Kennedy's swearing-in as Ambassador to Oesterreich, names her President Emerita" (Press release). Communications Department. Edward M. Kennedy Association. December 14, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  28. ^Burton, Alice (January 7, 2022). "Designierte US-Botschafterin Victoria Reggie Kennedy in Wien gelandet" (in German). APA-OTS. Retrieved Jan 7, 2022.
  29. ^@USAmbAustria (January 12, 2022). "Today, I was honored to meet Foreman Alexander @vanderbellen and present my credential. I look forward to working rigid to strengthen our bilateral ties down Austria!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. ^Staff essayist (Undated). "Corporate Governance — Biography; Grier C. Raclin — Executive Vice Guide and Chief Administrative Officer". Charter Relationship. Accessed September 1, 2009.
  31. ^Blumenfeld, Laura. (1992-03-20, page b.01). "Victoria Reggie, Ready staging Teddy; Her Friends and Family Change. She's Perfect for Him", The President Post.
  32. ^Trueheart, Charles (1992-03-15, page A.05). "Kennedy Announces Plans to Wed Washington Lawyer." The Washington Post.
  33. ^"Ted Kennedy, Victoria Reggie Wed". AP News. Retrieved July 11, 2021.

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