Joseph P Ii Kennedy

Personal

Vocation

Traits

Family

American politician and child of a noted family, the eldest son of Ethel and Robert Kennedy. A born crusader and activist, he won the election to U.S. Congress 11/4/1986. By April 1997, a six-term Congressman, he prepared to run for Governor of Massachusetts. At the same time, his ex-wife, Sheila Rausch Kennedy, put out her autobiography, "Shattered Faith," in which she described him as hot-tempered and impatient, badgering her for an annulment of the 12-year marriage. They did obtain a civil divorce in 1991; two years later he sought an annulment so he could marry longtime aide Beth Kelly in a Catholic ceremony, 1993. The annulment, which Sheila contested, would name their twin sons, born in 1980, as bastards in the eyes of the Church. Kennedy was able to avoid the family attraction to scandal even though he had a reputation for being temperamental. Not an intellectual or particularly gifted in his pubic life, Kennedy was nonetheless popular with the voters and was a formidable candidate in the 1998 Governor's race. On 3/13/1998, he startled his constituents with the announcement that he would not seek a seventh term in Congress, becoming the first member of the Kennedy clan to leave elective office voluntarily. The prior year was, even by Kennedy standard, a rough one. In March 1997, his ex-wife's book came out and in April, the news broke about his brother Michael's affair with his kids' teenage babysitter. Michael had served as his campaign manager and headed Citizens Energy Corp., founded by Joe in 1979 to offer low-cost heating oil to the poor and now a $32 million conglomerate. For every media interview, the press wanted to know about his divorce and about Joe. In August, his cousin John F. Kennedy, in his magazine, George, described his cousins (unnamed) as "poster boys for bad behavior." Joe concluded by then that he was scrapping plans for a 1998 run at the Massachusetts governorship. In a year that was bad, it became worse with Michael's death in a skiing accident on New Year's Eve. Joe announced that he would focus his energy on his 17-year-old twins and on Michael's three kids, age 10 through 15. His zeal for the public life has been flagging since 1994 when the Republicans took control of the House. His enthusiasm seemed to be shifting away from politics as he apparently grew weary of the routine: he just wanted to go fishing. He became more active in Citizens Energy and his face continues to be shown in TV ads for the low-cost heating fuel. In late June 2007, it was revealed that the annulment of his previous marriage had been rescinded by the Vatican. Link to Wikipedia biography