Politics

Member of Kennedy clan set to be named special envoy to north

Former US Congressman Joe Kennedy III
Former US Congressman Joe Kennedy III Former US Congressman Joe Kennedy III

A member of the Kennedy political clan is set to be named as the new US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland.

Former Congressman Joe Kennedy III will reportedly be nominated to a post as early as next week.

It has been vacant for two years since just after the election of President Joe Biden.

The last envoy was Mike Mulvaney, who quit after the January 2021 storming of the Capitol in Washington.

Former US special envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney
Former US special envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney Former US special envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney

It is expected an announcement of the appointment of Mr Kennedy, a grandson of the assassinated presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, will be made as early as Monday, BBC reported.

Sources in Washington told the broadcaster the special envoy will focus on economic development and closer ties between the north and the US rather than Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The White House is making the move ahead of new rules to be introduced in January requiring the approval of the Senate for all special envoy appointments.

A Harvard Law School graduate and former prosecutor, Massachusetts-born Mr Kennedy was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2013 to the state’s 4th District.

He served four terms as a representative before deciding in 2020 to launch a bid for the Senate against long time incumbent Ed Markey.

Mr Kennedy lost the Democratic primary.