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Biden Appoints Joe Kennedy As US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland


Mon 19 Dec 2022 | 11:15 PM
Omnia Ahmed

U.S. President Joe Biden, who has Irish family ties, named former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy III as a special representative to Northern Ireland for economic affairs.

The appointment comes as the White House continues to pressure the UK and EU to settle their dispute over the region’s post-Brexit trading arrangements

“He will focus on advancing economic development and investment opportunities in Northern Ireland to the benefit of all communities as well as strengthening people-to-people ties between the United States and Northern Ireland,” Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, said on Monday.

Kennedy, 42, is a member of the renowned Kennedy family. His grandfather was former Senator Robert Kennedy, brother of John F Kennedy, the first US president with Irish Catholic roots.

Meanwhile, the new official asserted that it was an “incredible honour” to be appointed special envoy and he looked forward to working with the Biden administration “to reaffirm US commitment to Northern Ireland and to promote economic prosperity and opportunity for all its people”.

The role has been empty since 2021 after former President Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney resigned in the wake of the attack on the US Capitol.