Public Policy Analysis Challenge

Mark Kirk represented the State of Illinois in the U.S. Congress. After serving 10 years as a Republican centrist in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Kirk brought his coalition building approach to the U.S. Senate. Having traveled to more than 40 countries, Senator Kirk made foreign policy, national security, international trade, and finance cornerstones of his public service.

In the Senate, Senator Kirk was Chairman of the Appropriations’ subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. He also Chaired the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs’ subcommittee of National Security and International Trade and Finance. Senator Kirk served on the Appropriations’ subcommittees of Commerce, Justice, and Science, and State and Foreign Operations as well as the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Senator Kirk attended the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México before earning a BA (cum laude) in history from Cornell University. He went on to earn a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree from Georgetown University and served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1989 until 2013, when he retired with the rank of commander.

Prior to his elected service in Congress, Senator Kirk held senior positions at the World Bank, U.S. State Department, U.S. House of Representatives’ International Affairs Committee, and as an attorney with Baker & McKenzie. Retiring from Congress in 2017, Senator Kirk established KGA, an international consulting firm.