Patrick appoints Kennedy’s successor after law change

Paul Kirk Jr., former aide to U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, was appointed Thursday to take over the late senator’s seat until a successor is officially elected on Jan. 19, according to Gov. Deval Patrick’s office.

Kirk was appointed one day after the state legislature changed the law barring the appointment of an interim senator by the governor. Previously, a special election was required, but in light the urgency of some legislation currently before Congress, a new bill was passed Wednesday to allow Patrick to appoint a temporary senator for the empty seat.’

Kirk was appointed on the condition that he would not be a candidate in the Jan. special election.

‘For the next few months, [Kirk] will carry on the work and focus of Sen. Kennedy, mindful of his mission, his values and his love of Massachusetts,’ Patrick said in a statement released Thursday. ‘I know I join so many other citizens in thanking him for his willingness to serve.’

Kirk, 71, is the chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation Board of Directors, co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates and a member of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute Board of Directors for the United States Senate.

‘This is a profound honor which I accept with most sincere humility,’ Kirk said in the press release. ‘Sen. Kennedy often said that representing the citizens of Massachusetts in the Senate was the highest honor he could ever achieve, and it certainly will be mine.’

After graduating from Harvard University and Harvard Law School, Kirk served as a Middlesex County Assistant District Attorney. Kirk served as special assistant for Sen. Kennedy from 1969 to 1977 and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1985 to 1989.

‘Paul Kirk is a great choice for the interim United States Senate seat,’ Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray said in the press release.’ ‘He will offer continuity for the people of the Commonwealth while also upholding the ideals that Senator Kennedy held so dear.’