Shortly after finishing school, Kirk became enmeshed in politics. In 1966, Kirk worked on John F. Kennedy's White House chief of staff Kenneth O'Donnell's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in Massachusetts.

Two years later, Kirk joined then-Sen. Robert Kennedy's (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign. When the campaign came to a halt after Kennedy's tragic assassination, Kirk nearly quit politics. "After Sen. Kennedy's death, I thought I probably would never get near politics again," said Kirk.

Ted Kennedy's Staff

But Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Robert Kennedy's brother, asked Kirk to join his staff. Kirk decided "that if, after the assassinations of his own brothers, he [Edward] could continue," then so could Kirk.

Kirk joined Kennedy's staff in 1969, and worked on Capitol Hill for eight years, eventually becoming the senator's chief of staff. But in 1977, Kirk quit politics to practice law. He became a partner at the Boston-based Sullivan & Worcester. Although out of the politics game, Kirk did participate in Kennedy's 1980 presidential campaign.

DNC Chairman

Then in 1985, following the election of Ronald Reagan, Kirk became the leading candidate for chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Kirk's top adversary in the election was a young Californian named Nancy Pelosi. Kirk defeated Pelosi in the election, and headed the DNC for four years while continuing to work at Sullivan & Worcester.

Team Player, and Lobbyist

In 1990, Kirk left Sullivan & Worcester. Afterwards he joined several boards and worked on many pet projects. In 1992, Kirk became the chairman of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), a think tank that promotes global democracy. He stayed with NDI until 2001. In 1999, Kirk headed a coalition of Boston business and community leaders that convinced the National Football League to keep the New England Patriots football team in Foxboro, Mass.

While working on the football coalition, Kirk was also a registered lobbyist, representing the pharmaceutical company Hoechst Marion Roussel from 1998 to 1999 (Hoechst Marion Roussel became Aventis in 1999).

Prior to his nod as interim-U.S. senator, Kirk was chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, served on Hartford Financial Services' board of directors, headed the Boston consulting firm Kirk & Associates, and was a member on the board of trustees at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.

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