Robert kennedy family tree

Victoria Reggie Kennedy

American diplomat, attorney, and activist (born )

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

senatorTed Kennedy.

A member of the Kennedy family through her late husband, Kennedy was born in Louisiana and became a practicing attorney after attending Tulane University Law School. As a partner at Keck, Mahin & Cate, she specialized in financial law.

Caroline raclin photos In one of those bipartisan alliances that were hallmarks of his legislative successes, Mr. Hidden categories: CS1 German-language sources de Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Pages using infobox officeholder with ambassador from or minister from Commons category link is on Wikidata Webarchive template wayback links People appearing on C-SPAN. The campaign was a disaster, badly organized and appearing to lack a political or policy premise. With the approach of the election, there was the inevitable speculation that Mr.

She was appointed as ambassador by President Joe Biden in and confirmed unanimously by the US Senate. She is a sister-in-law to former president John F. Kennedy and former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

Early life and education

The second of six children, Victoria Anne Reggie was born in Crowley in Acadia Parish in southwestern Louisiana.

Her father, Edmund Reggie, was a Louisiana judge and banker, and her mother, Doris Ann Boustany, was a Democratic National committeewoman.[2][3] Reggie is of Lebanese descent, as all of her grandparents were Maronites from Lebanon who immigrated to the United States and later settled to Louisiana.[4] Reggie's grandparents became important members of the local Roman Catholic church, and later their children became involved in business and politics.

Her brother is Denis Reggie, a photographer who popularized the genre of wedding photojournalism.

Reggie's immediate family was wealthy because of money from her maternal family's interest in the Bunny Bread baking concern in New Orleans.[5] She was raised in a family that was constantly involved in politics and campaigns.

Caroline raclin biography Young As becoming the successor. But there is a lesson to be learned by it because now, with his passing, I have a much bigger tendency than he did to get sad and depressed and pensive and whatever you want to call it. Edward was in San Francisco at a victory celebration. Young Tell me about that.

At the Democratic National Convention, her father helped deliver his state for John F. Kennedy's unsuccessful bid for the vice-presidential nomination. Over time, John Kennedy developed a close social relationship with the Reggies.[6] Her mother cast the only Louisiana delegate vote for Ted Kennedy at the Democratic National Convention.[7]

Victoria Reggie attended parochial schools growing up and was a straight-A student.

She attended Newcomb College at Tulane University in New Orleans, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English, magna cum laude,[8] was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was president of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.[5] She then received her Juris Doctor degree, summa cum laude in from Tulane University Law School.

There she was a member of the Tulane Law Review. Her education at Tulane, along with twenty years of other Tulane tuition for her brothers and sisters, was paid for by scholarships awarded by a political ally 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 Chicago. As an attorney, she specialized in banking law.

Gun control advocacy

Kennedy is president and co-founder of Common Sense about Kids and Guns, an advocacy group begun in which seeks to reduce gun deaths and injuries to children in the U.S.

She is a member of the board of trustees of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and has served on the board of Stop Handgun Violence in Boston.[8] She is a board member of Catholic Democrats and authored the preface for their book The Catholic Case for Obama.

Activities

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

Upon his death, some thought that she would be appointed by then-Governor Deval Patrick to take the Senator's seat until the special election could take place, but she declined[13][14][15] and the governor instead appointed long-time Kennedy associate Paul G.

Kirk. Some Democratic officials hoped she would agree to run for Senate to finish out her husband's term, but she declined again and instead endorsed Martha Coakley for the special election to fill the vacant seat.[16] Coakley was defeated by Scott Brown. A year later, speculation continued as some noted Democrats saw her as their best chance to take back Senator Kennedy's former seat from Brown and the Republicans in the election;[17] however, she again declined,[18] and the Democratic nomination was awarded to Elizabeth Warren, who went on to defeat Brown in November [19]

Kennedy was invited to speak at the spring commencement of the Catholic Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts, but at the request of Bishop Robert Joseph McManus of the Diocese of Worcester, Kennedy was disinvited by the college.

The bishop and other Catholic organizations had expressed reservations about a stalwart pro-choice advocate like Kennedy speaking at a Catholic university.[20]

In February , U.S. President Barack Obama nominated her to serve as a governor of the United States Postal Service (a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service), for a term expiring December 8, Had she been confirmed, Kennedy would assume the board seat being vacated by Carolyn L.

Gallagher. The nomination expired with the end of Obama's term as president.[21][22]

U.S. ambassador to Austria

In , U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Kennedy to serve as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Austria. In mid-June, the office of Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen had confirmed the required "agreement" for Kennedy's appointment was issued.[23] On October 5, , a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[24] On October 19, , her nomination was reported favorably out of committee.[25] On October 26, , Kennedy was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.[26] Her swearing in as the United States Ambassador to Austria took place at Edward M.

Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate on November 16, , with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer administering her oath of office.[27] She arrived in Vienna on January 7, , and presented her credentials to President Alexander Van der Bellen on January 12, [28][29]

Personal life

She met her first husband, Grier C.

Raclin, a telecommunications attorney[4] (who later became a senior executive at Charter Communications in St. Louis, Missouri),[30] when they clerked together at the Everett McKinley Dirksen Federal Courthouse. Their church wedding was in Crowley and "feted four hundred guests with a week's worth of parties."

Following marriage, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., where she practiced banking and savings and loan law and restructuring and bankruptcy law for Keck, Mahin & Cate.[3][4] She was made partner there, and was known to be "charismatic and hard-driving" and a tough negotiator in settlement talks[4] and "as a real star" for her ability to work on complicated financial transactions.[3] Reggie and Raclin had two children, Curran (born ) and Caroline (born ).[2] They were divorced in [2][31] Upon her divorce, she was left to juggle her career as a lawyer with her role as a single mother of two young children.[3]

Marriage to Ted Kennedy

Kennedy and Reggie began dating in June [32] after meeting at a party celebrating her parents' 40th wedding anniversary.[3] Ted Kennedy said of this meeting, "I had known Vicki before, but this was the first time I think I really saw her."[7] The relationship became serious in September [7] They were engaged in March , and married July 3, , in a civil ceremony at his home in McLean, Virginia.[33] His political career had suffered from a long period of womanizing, drinking, and adverse publicity, and she is credited with stabilizing his personal life and helping him resume a productive career in the Senate.[3][6] Kennedy was devoted to her two children.[3][6]

In Ted Kennedy's senatorial re-election campaign against moderate RepublicanMitt Romney, she was credited by The New York Times with "giving him a political advantage in a difficult contest."[2] For a Boston, Massachusetts, reception she organized, 1, influential New England women met five of Kennedy's Senate colleagues.[4] Reggie became Ted's principal assistant and closest political advisor.[6] By , she no longer practiced law.[6] Following Ted Kennedy's May diagnosis of brain cancer, Reggie became his primary caregiver.[6]

  1. ^"The Kennedys".

    American Experience. PBS. October 2, Archived from the original(film; transcript available) on March 13, Retrieved March 5,

  2. ^ abcdRimer, Sarah (September 24, ). "The Campaign; Kennedy's Wife Is Giving Him a Political Advantage in a Difficult Contest".

    The New York Times. Retrieved August 29,

  3. ^ abcdefgKahn, Joseph P. (February 19, ). "An Untidy Private Life, Then a Turn to Stability". The Boston Globe.

    Caroline raclin biography wikipedia Kennedy expanded on his national reputation, first pushing to end the war in Vietnam, then concentrating on his favorite legislative issues, especially civil rights, health, taxes, criminal laws and deregulation of the airline and trucking industries. Young Goading each other on. Ted [Edward Kennedy] came into my life when I was four or five years old, so I was very young. He was briefed by a parade of Harvard professors and began to develop his positions on immigration, health care and civil rights.

    Retrieved February 20,

  4. ^ abcdeHersh, Burton (). The Shadow President: Ted Kennedy in Opposition. Steerforth Press. pp.&#;– ISBN&#;.
  5. ^ abGliatto, Tom (March 30, ).

    Caroline raclin biography death: I look forward to working hard to strengthen our bilateral ties with Austria! As he underwent cancer treatment, Mr. Young Tell me about that. At one point, I was thinking about med [medical] school.

    "Time to Marry? Right, Said Ted". People. Retrieved August 29,

  6. ^ abcdefRomano, Lois (June 7, ). "Senator's Wife Is His First Mate, Adviser and Caregiver".

    The Washington Post via The Ledger. Archived from the original on September 1, Retrieved August 29,

  7. ^ abcAdam Clymer (). Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography. William Morrow. pp. – ISBN&#;
  8. ^ ab"Common Sense about Kids and Guns: Kennedy Bio".

    Archived from the original on September 7, Retrieved August 4,

  9. ^Tyler, Bridges (October 15, ). "Records Reveal More Perks to the Powerful; The Tulane Scholarship Scandal Part II". The Times-Picayune.
  10. ^"Louisiana Scholarships Have Political Pedigree".

    The New York Times. October 17, Retrieved October 28,

  11. ^Bishop, Ian (May 22, ). "Ted Kennedy: I'd Like Wife to Take Seat". Daily News.
  12. ^Fee, Gayle; Raposa, Laura (February 20, ). "Is Vicki Kennedy Ready to Succeed?". Boston Herald. Retrieved August 29,
  13. ^Parnes, Amie (August 29, ).

    "Next Step Not Clear for Vicki Kennedy". The Politico. Accessed

  14. ^Healy, Orla (August 30, ). "Race to Follow Ted Waits for Family to Make up their Minds". Irish Independent. Accessed
  15. ^LeBlanc, Steve (August 30, ). "Push begins to choose successor to Ted Kennedy's Senate seat".

    AP via Retrieved August 30,

  16. ^"Victoria Kennedy endorses Martha Coakley in race for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat".

  17. Caroline raclin biography death
  18. Victoria raclin kennedy
  19. Caroline raclin biography images
  20. AP via January 7, Retrieved August 30,

  21. ^Akers, Mary Ann; Philip Rucker (August 15, ). "Prominent Democrats want Kennedy's widow to run for his Senate seat". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 30,
  22. ^Lehigh, Scot (January 12, ). "A word with Kennedy". The Boston Globe.

    Retrieved June 18,

  23. ^Seelye, Katharine Q. (June 2, ). "Warren Fends Off Party Challenger in Massachusetts Race". The New York Times. Retrieved June 18,
  24. ^"Catholic College Cancels Kennedy as Commencement Speaker at Request of Bishop «&#;Campus Notes". Archived from the original on May 12, Retrieved May 9,
  25. ^Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate |
  26. ^Urbanski, Al (July 15, ).

    "Postal Board Nominees Would Hand Rate-Setting Authority to USPS".

    Caroline raclin biography husband But he came to. He led efforts to increase aid for higher education and win passage of Mr. Because he had so many siblings, you can definitely imagine them doing the exact same things with all of their friends and neighbors. She met her first husband, Grier C.

    Direct Marketing News. Archived from the original on July 17, Retrieved August 7,

  27. ^Staff Writer (July 14, ). "Austria approves Victoria Kennedy as new US envoy, report says". The Boston Globe. The Associated Press. Retrieved July 14,
  28. ^"PN - Nomination of Victoria Reggie Kennedy for Department of State, th Congress ()".

    . Retrieved

  29. ^"SFRC Approves 33 Critical Foreign Policy Nominations" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. October 19, Retrieved November 9,
  30. ^Kelly, Laura (October 26, ). "Senate confirms four Biden ambassadors after delay". The Hill.

    Retrieved October 26,

  31. ^"Edward M. Kennedy Institute Hosts Victoria Reggie Kennedy's swearing-in as Ambassador to Austria, names her President Emerita" (Press release). Communications Department. Edward M. Kennedy Institute. December 14, Retrieved January 7,
  32. ^Burton, Alice (January 7, ). "Designierte US-Botschafterin Victoria Reggie Kennedy in Wien gelandet" (in German).

    APA-OTS. Retrieved January 7,

  33. ^USAmbAustria (January 12, ). "Today, I was honored to meet President Alexander vanderbellen and present my credentials. I look forward to working hard to strengthen our bilateral ties with Austria!" (Tweet) &#; via Twitter.
  34. ^Staff writer (Undated). "Corporate Governance — Biography; Grier C.

    Raclin — Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer". Charter Communications. Accessed September 1,

  35. ^Blumenfeld, Laura.

  36. Kennedy family tree 2024
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  38. Kennedy family today
  39. Who is the patriarch of the kennedy family now
  40. (, page b). "Victoria Reggie, Ready for Teddy; Her Friends and Family Agree. She's Perfect for Him", The Washington Post.

  41. ^Trueheart, Charles (, page A). "Kennedy Announces Plans to Wed Washington Lawyer." The Washington Post.
  42. ^"Ted Kennedy, Victoria Reggie Wed". AP News. Retrieved July 11,

External links