A Dictionary of Political Biography by A Dictionary of Political Biography

Author:A Dictionary of Political Biography
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Kennedy , Robert Francis

(b. Brookline, Massachusetts , 20 Nov. 1925; d. 6 June 1968)

US; Attorney-General 1961–4, US Senator 1965–8 Kennedy served in the navy 1944–5. He then took a BA at Harvard University and an LLB at the University of Virginia. In 1952 he acted as campaign manager for his elder brother John F. Kennedy's successful race for the US Senate. In 1953 he became Assistant Counsel for the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which was chaired by Senator Joseph McCarthy , but he joined the walkout of Democratic members of the subcommittee in protest against McCarthy's methods. In 1955–7 he became Chief Counsel to the Subcommittee on Investigations when Senator John McClellan became chairman. In 1957–9 he became Chief Counsel to McClellan's Senate Rackets Committee, which won him national prominence in his aggressive pursuit of Teamsters' Union president Jimmy Hoffa .

In 1960 he acted as campaign manager for John F. Kennedy's successful campaign for President. He was appointed Attorney-General in President Kennedy's administration and took a strong stand in the enforcement of civil rights measures in the South. He was President Kennedy's closest adviser on all matters including, for example, foreign policy issues such as the Cuban missile crisis. After Kennedy's assassination, he continued to serve in President Johnson's Cabinet as Attorney-General and was disappointed that Johnson did not choose him as vice-presidential candidate in 1964. Instead he ran for election as Senator from New York in 1964. He supported President Johnson on domestic issues, especially the War on Poverty and civil rights, but he disliked Johnson personally and above all clashed with him over the war in Vietnam. By 1968 he was one of the most significant dissenters with regard to American policy on Vietnam, while on domestic policy he became increasing liberal and acquired an unusually close empathy with minorities and the dispossessed. He hesitated to challenge Johnson for the Democratic nomination for President in 1968. When Johnson's weakness was illustrated, however, by the strong support for Senator Eugene McCarthy in the New Hampshire primary in March, he declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. His victory in a string of primaries gave him a strong chance of winning the Democratic nomination over Vice-President Hubert Humphrey , who was the front runner following Johnson's withdrawal from the race. After his victory in the final primary in California, however, he was shot and killed by Sihran Sihran , a Palestinian who was angered by Kennedy's support for Israel, though it was not an issue on which he had taken a prominent stand.

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