Mark Kirk

Mark Kirk (1959-) is a U.S Representative (R-Illinois 10th district), first elected in 2000. He is a candidate for the U.S. Senate. A commander in U.S. Navy intelligence, he deployed to Afghanistan in December 2008, and has foreign affairs experience both in the executive branch and in non-governmental organizations. He has positioned himself as supporting a "Suburban Agenda" that is "pro-defense, pro-personal responsibility, pro-environment, and pro-science," and identifies as a moderate member of the Republican Tuesday Group.

His district is a suburb north of Chicago. He serves on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and the bipartisan House US-China Working Group.

Foreign affairs positions

Rep. Kirk has been highly complimentary of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; calling her "the superstar of the Cabinet. Everything she touches is well run." Speaking of her policy role, says Biden opposed sending 21,000 additional troops and Clinton favored it. "It turned into Biden vs. Hillary, and she crushed him."

He is an adviser to the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.

He supports sending more troops to Afghanistan, even if Republicans oppose the cost, and also is in favor of providing large bonuses to military personnel who commit to service in Afghanistan for the duration of the war, and developing a high level of language skill.

A strong supporter of the State of Israel, he plans a visit there in alternate years. Co-chair of the co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Israel at the UN, he has questioned the Goldstone report on the 2009 Gaza conflict and the UN Human Rights Council, saying "The UN Human Rights Council seems more concerned with castigating the State of Israel than ending genocide in Darfur, stopping mass murder in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or ending human rights abuses in countries like Iran and North Korea...Given the Human Rights Council's decision to prioritize the castigation of Israel at the expense of the rights of people in Darfur, North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, the U.S. Administration should reconsider its membership"

Early career

After law school, he joined the staff of his predecessor in Congress, John Porter. He then worked for the International Finance Corporation at the World Bank, and then became Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for inter-American Affairs at the U.S. State Department from 1992-93. Next, he practiced law at Baker & McKenzie, and then joined the staff of the U.S. House International Relations Committee.

Military

He has served in the Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti and Bosnia, and received a Navy “Intelligence Officer of the Year” in 1999 for his combat service in Kosovo. He was first member of Congress to serve in an "imminent danger zone" since 1942 when he deployed as a reservist to Afghanistan in December 2008.

In Afghanistan, he was assigned, for three weeks, to International Security Assistance Force Regional Command South, in Kandahar, developing a counternarcotics plan for southern Afghanistan.

There are conflicting reports, including statements he made on the House floor, of his work with the Central Intelligence Agency, either as a Naval Intelligence officer detailed to CIA, or during his State Department work.

Education

• Undergraduate studies at Blackburn College (Carlinville) and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma in Mexico
• B.A. from Cornell University
• Masters degree from the London School of Economics
• J.D. from Georgetown University.