Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 10th district
In office January 3, 2001 – November 29, 2010
Preceded by
John Porter
Succeeded by
Bob Dold
Personal details
Born
Mark Steven Kirk
(1959-09-15) September 15, 1959 (age 64) Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
Political party
Republican
Spouse
Kimberly Vertolli
(m. 2001; div. 2009)
Education
Cornell University (BA) London School of Economics (MSc) Georgetown University (JD)
Website
Senate website (Archived)
Military service
Allegiance
United States
Branch/service
United States Navy
Years of service
1989–2013
Rank
Commander
Unit
Naval Intelligence
Battles/wars
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia Operation Northern Watch
Mark Kirk's voice
Kirk on the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth Recorded February 3, 2011
Mark Steven Kirk (born September 15, 1959) is an American retired politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Illinois from 2010 to 2017, and as the United States representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district from 2001 to 2010. A member of the Republican Party, Kirk describes himself as socially liberal and fiscally conservative.[1][2]
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Kirk graduated from Cornell University, the London School of Economics, and Georgetown University Law Center. He practiced law throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He joined the United States Navy Reserve as a Direct Commission Officer in the Intelligence career field in 1989 and was recalled to active duty for the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. He participated in Operation Northern Watch in Iraq the following year. He attained the rank of Commander and retired from the Navy Reserve in 2013.[3]
Kirk was elected to the House in 2000. During his fifth term in November 2010, he won two concurrent elections: to finish the final months of former Senator Barack Obama's term and to serve the next six-year term. He was sworn in on November 29, 2010, and began a six-year Senate term on January 3, 2011.[4] In January 2012, Kirk suffered a stroke; almost a full year passed before he returned to his senatorial duties.[5] In 2016, Kirk ran for re-election to a second full term, but was defeated by Democrat Tammy Duckworth.[6] Kirk is the last Illinois Republican to have served in the U.S. Senate.
^Palmer, Anna; Everett, Burgess (October 27, 2015). "The most endangered Republican in the country". Politico. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
^Gray, Steven (December 11, 2010). "Illinois' Mark Kirk: Can a Moderate Republican Thrive in Today's Senate?". Time. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
^Cite error: The named reference USNR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Sen. Mark Kirk has stroke: Surgery Monday at Northwestern Hospital". Chicago Sun-Times. January 23, 2012. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
^Camia, Catalina (January 3, 2013). "Sen. Kirk makes dramatic return after stroke". USA Today. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
^House, Jennifer Bendery White (November 8, 2016). "Tammy Duckworth Takes Back Obama's Illinois Senate Seat For Democrats". HuffPost.
Mark Steven Kirk (born September 15, 1959) is an American retired politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Illinois from 2010...
volunteered for the successful U.S. Senate campaign of Illinois Republican MarkKirk, to whom he is not related. In senior year he created a campaign to revert...
various state and local elections. Prior to the election, incumbent senator MarkKirk (R) was considered to be the most vulnerable senator among those seeking...
Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played...
was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, defeating Republican incumbent MarkKirk. Duckworth is the first Thai American woman elected to Congress, the first...
earliest state primary elections: Republicans nominated U.S. Representative MarkKirk, Democrats nominated State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, and the Green...
came from the defeats of incumbents Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire and MarkKirk in Illinois by Maggie Hassan and Tammy Duckworth, respectively. Despite...
Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor, evangelist, and television host. He first gained fame as a teen actor playing Mike Seaver...
Senator MarkKirk over his Democratic Party challenger Representative Tammy Duckworth in his re-election bid to the United States Senate. Though Kirk later...
and narrowly lost the general elections in November 2010 to Republican MarkKirk. Making him the only Illinois Democrat Senate nominee in the 21st century...
Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist of heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Prior to joining...
wop greaseball goombahs come outta the woodwork". In 2016, U.S. Senator MarkKirk used the term in reference to what he regarded as unqualified political...
began sitting at the desk and was there until he left the Senate in 2011. MarkKirk of Illinois occupied the desk from 2011 to 2015. The desk received renewed...
state history. The 2010 elections saw the election of Illinois Republican MarkKirk to the US Senate as well as a Republican sweep of Illinois US House seats...
Kirk M. Acevedo (born November 27, 1971) is an American actor. He is primarily known for his work on television for the portrayals of Miguel Alvarez in...
label art. On January 10, 2014, Illinois U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and MarkKirk and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown proposed naming the headquarters of the...
defeated Democratic Party nominee Dan Seals to replace Republican incumbent MarkKirk in the U.S. House of Representatives. Dold was narrowly defeated by Democrat...
American action comedy film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Che-Kirk Wong, and stars Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Bokeem Woodbine...
Kirk Thornton is an American voice actor, director and script writer working mainly with English-language versions of Japanese animated series. His major...
Kirk Sutherland is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. The character first appeared on-screen as "Mark" during the...
since 1996. Charnock and Emmerdale co-star Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy Kirk, produce a yearly Zombie Film Festival in the Leeds Cottage Road Cinema....
Johnson (IL) David Jolly (FL) Ric Keller (FL) Sue Kelly (NY) Pete King (NY) MarkKirk (IL) Jim Kolbe (AZ) Randy Kuhl (NY) Ray LaHood (IL) Leonard Lance (NJ)...
to Gideon to supply the virus herself. Kirk forgives her for her deception. In 2017, Den of Geek ranked "The Mark of Gideon" as the 14th "best worst" Star...
Global Information
United States
United States Navy
Commander