chairman of the Democratic National Committee
What was the position of Paul G. Kirk from 1985 to 1989?
Paul G . Kirk Paul Grattan Kirk Jr . ( born January 18 , 1938 ) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts from 2009 to 2010 , having been appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of Ted Kennedy . From 1985 to 1989 , he chaired the Democratic National Committee ( DNC ) . He served as co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates , the chairman of the board of directors of the John F . Kennedy Library Foundation , and a member of the board of directors of the Edward M . Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate . Early life and education . Kirk , one of five children , was born in Newton , Massachusetts . He is the son of Josephine Elizabeth ( née OConnell ) and Judge Paul G . Kirk Sr. , an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts . His father was of Irish and English descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry . He attended The Roxbury Latin School and graduated from St . Sebastians School in 1956 , Harvard College in 1960 , and Harvard Law School in 1964 . Career . Kirk was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1965 . Kirk is affiliated with the law firm Sullivan & Worcester LLP of Boston , Massachusetts , and was a partner from 1977 to 1990 . 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 the Hartford Financial Services Group , Inc. , Rayonier , Incorporated , and Cedar Realty Trust , Inc . He was a board member of ITT Corporation from 1989 to 1997 and Bradley Real Estate , Inc . from 1991 to 2000 . Kirk is a trustee of Stonehill College . He also served as a trustee of St . Sebastians 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 the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs . DNC . Kirk was a special assistant to Senator Ted Kennedy from 1969 to 1977 . In 1983 , he became treasurer of the national Democratic Party . In 1985 Kirk was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee despite opposition from Virginia Governor Chuck Robb and a group of southern state Democrats who went on to form the Democratic Leadership Council . He caused a brief stir when he suggested means testing for Social Security , but he quickly withdrew his remarks . In the 1986 mid-term elections , under Kirks chairmanship , the Democrats regained control of the Senate , which had had a Republican majority since the 1980 elections . Kirk resigned shortly after Republican vice president George H . W . Bushs victory over Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election . He was succeeded as DNC chairman by Ron 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 his superdelegate nomination vote in the summer 2008 national Democratic convention to Barack Obama . U.S . Senate . In August 2009 , Senator Ted Kennedy died , leaving a vacancy in the Massachusetts Senate delegation . Five years earlier in 2004 , the Massachusetts General Court had withdrawn the authority of the governor to fill a U.S . Senate vacancy by appointment , to prevent the then-Governor Mitt Romney , a Republican , from appointing a fellow Republican to fill the remainder of Democrat John Kerrys Senate term , if Kerry were to win the 2004 presidential election . The legislation was enacted over Romneys veto . 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 . The new law called for a special election months later to fill the vacancy . However , Kennedys death denied Democrats in the U.S . Senate the 60‑vote supermajority required to end filibusters . Given the urgency of and narrow partisan support for some legislation before Congress , most notably health 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 governors power to make interim appointments to serve until the special election stipulated in the earlier legislation is held , over multiple bipartisan concerns of hypocrisy . Kennedys two sons , Patrick J . Kennedy and Edward Kennedy Jr. ; and his wife , Victoria Reggie Kennedy , had all expressed their preference for Kirk . On September 23 , 2009 , several national media organizations reported that Kirk was favored by the family of the late Senator Edward M . Kennedy to be the senators interim replacement , and that the family had communicated their preference to Governor Deval Patrick . Governor Patrick announced Kirks appointment the next day . Kirk pledged he would not be a candidate in the special election , which was won by Republican Scott Brown . Kirk was sworn into office on September 25 , 2009 . On September 24 , 2009 , members of the Massachusetts 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 . A Suffolk Superior Court judge dismissed the case the same day , and Kirk took the oath of office as senator that afternoon . On January 19 , 2010 , Scott Brown , a Republican state senator , was elected to serve the balance of Kennedys term . Although Kirk was only appointed until his successor was elected , he continued to sit , and voted on the Senate floor on January 20 , 2010 , without any objection from Senate staff or Senate Republicans . This situation is analogous to 1993 , when Kay Bailey Hutchison was elected on June 5 , but Bob 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 . Kirk was present at his successors swearing in ceremony on February 4 , 2010 . Later career . Kirk supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries . Kirk has written opinion columns for The Boston Globe . Personal life . In 1974 , he married Gail Loudermilk . They reside in Marstons Mills , a village of Barnstable , Massachusetts . Kirk is a great-nephew of the late Cardinal William OConnell and the brother-in-law of ice hockey player and coach Bill Cleary . External links . - Massachusetts Republican Party v . Deval Patrick , No . 2009-4078 ( Mass . Sup . Ct . Sep 25 , 2009 ) , Memorandum and Order on Plaintiffs Motion for a Preliminary Injunction ( Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Thomas Connollys order denying the request to enjoin Kirks appointment )