Patrick F. Kennedy

For other people named Patrick Kennedy, see Patrick Kennedy (disambiguation).
Patrick Kennedy
Under Secretary of State for Management
Assumed office
November 15, 2007
President George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Preceded by Henrietta Fore
In office
September 1, 1996 – August 20, 1997
Acting
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Richard Moose
Succeeded by Bonnie Cohen
United States Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform
In office
September 2001 – May 2005
President George W. Bush
Preceded by Donald Hayes
Succeeded by Mark Wallace
Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security
Acting
In office
January 31, 1998 – August 11, 1998
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Eric Boswell
Succeeded by David Carpenter
Assistant Secretary of State for Administration
In office
May 20, 1993 – July 13, 2001
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Arthur Fort
Succeeded by William Eaton
Personal details
Born Patrick Francis Kennedy
(1949-06-22) June 22, 1949[1]
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Spouse(s) Mary Elizabeth Swope
Alma mater Georgetown University

Patrick Francis Kennedy (born June 22, 1949)[1] is a career Foreign Service Officer, currently the U.S. State Department's Under Secretary of State for Management. He was Director of the Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing and Innovation. He has been Deputy Director for Management at the cabinet level Office of the Director of National Intelligence; he returned to the Department of State on May 7, 2007. Kennedy was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform and previously served as Chief of Staff for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He was the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration for the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 2001.

Diplomatic career

Kennedy holds a B.S.F.S. degree from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University.

Highlights

Blackwater Investigation

In 2007, Patrick F. Kennedy chaired an investigation into the behavior of Blackwater Worldwide following the Nisour Square shooting.[2][3]

Election of 2008

During the U.S. Presidential election, 2008 Patrick F. Kennedy ordered State Department employees in Europe be barred from attending Sen. Barack Obama's speech in Berlin on July 24, 2008 to ensure they displayed political neutrality. Kennedy labeled Obama's visit as a partisan political activity and he forbade employees from attending.[4]

Benghazi Affair

Kennedy's role in diplomatic security decisions has come under scrutiny from politicians since the terrorist attacks on the US Mission in Benghazi. Kennedy testified to the House Oversight Committee on 10 October 2012 about the death of Chris Stevens.[5] His position was that after the October 2011 fall of Gaddafi, the government of Libya was in flux, and that Stevens first arrived in Benghazi "during the height of the revolution", which occurred between 17 February and 23 October 2011, "when the city was the heart of the opposition to Colonel Qadhafi and the rebels there were fighting for their lives." At that time he was Special Representative to the National Transitional Council. Stevens returned to Libya as Ambassador in June 2012, and was killed on 11 September of that year.

“ Ambassador Stevens understood that the State Department must operate in many places where the U.S. military cannot or does not, where there are no other boots on the ground, where there are serious threats to our security. And he understood that the new Libya was being born in Benghazi and that it was critical that the United States have an active presence there. That is why Ambassador Stevens stayed in Benghazi during those difficult days. And it’s why he kept returning as the Libyan people began their difficult transition to democracy. He knew his mission was vital to U.S. interests and values, and was an investment that would pay off in a strong partnership with a free Libya. ”

The Republican minority on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has alleged that Kennedy, as Under Secretary for Management, failed to approve requests for additional security in Benghazi and Tripoli, and failed to implement recommendations regarding high-risk diplomatic posts that had been issued after the bombings of embassies in 1998.[6] In fact, the facility was classified as a U.S. Special Mission, which was then a novel category,[7] that required a waiver which "legally allowed the CIA annex to be housed in a location about one mile from the U.S. special mission."[8]

Belgian Ambassador Investigation

On June 10, 2013, CBS News reported that a memo from an official in the State Department inspector general’s office alleged that the then-current ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman, was ditching his security detail to engage prostitutes and to allegedly solicit sex with children, and further alleged that Patrick F. Kennedy had killed the original investigation in order to protect Ambassador Gutman and maybe others.[9] On June 11, 2013, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney confirmed that the allegation regarding Kennedy was under active investigation by an independent inspector general.[10][11][12] On June 21, 2013, the White House announced Denise Bauer as the new nominee to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Belgium.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Patrick Francis Kennedy". U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. November 15, 2007. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Before Shooting in Iraq, a Warning on Blackwater", The New York Times, 29 June 2014. Retrieved on 1 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Hudson, John. "Blackwater Bombshell Raises Questions for State Department Heavyweight", Foreign Policy, 30 June 2014. Retrieved on 1 July 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/23/AR2008072303388.html
  5. ↑ UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE PATRICK KENNEDY - TESTIMONY TO THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE - WASHINGTON, DC - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
  6. ↑ U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence: Review of the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12 2012
  7. ↑ Aaron Klein, "The REAL Benghazi Story: What the White House and Hillary Don’t Want You to Know", WND Books 2014
  8. ↑ wnd.com: "Hillary decision likely doomed U.S. ambassador" 10 September 2014
  9. ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57588456/state-department-memo-reveals-possible-cover-ups-halted-investigations
  10. ↑ http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/11/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-6112013
  11. ↑ http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/new-us-amb-belgium-announced-after-accusations-soliciting-underage-prostitutes_736922.html
  12. ↑ http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/hillary_sorry_state_of_affairs_YVapkHqM3mz6CVjehZOh7K?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=National

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Arthur Fort		 Assistant Secretary of State for Administration
1993–2001 		Succeeded by
William Eaton
Preceded by
Richard Moose		 Under Secretary of State for Management
Acting
1996–1997 		Succeeded by
Bonnie Cohen
Preceded by
Eric Boswell		 Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security
Acting
1998 		Succeeded by
David Carpenter
Preceded by
Henrietta Fore		 Under Secretary of State for Management
2007–present 		Incumbent
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Donald Hayes		 United States Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform
2001–2005 		Succeeded by
Mark Wallace
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