Robert Francis Kennedy, also widely known under the initials of RFK, was a lawyer and politician, one of the nine children born into the family or Joseph and Rose Kennedy. He was the Attorney General in the administration of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. After the unfortunate assassination of his brother, Robert was elected the state of New York representative to the United States Senate. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in the course of his run for the presidency on June the 5th, 1968 (Biography par. 2).
Brief Biography
Robert F. Kennedy was born on November 20th, 1925. He studied at the Milton Academy, and after his Navy service during World War II, graduated Harvard University with a degree in government. Three years later, he had received the degree in law at the University of Virginia Law School. According to Robert himself, the most cherished education he received was from his parents and their family dinners, where Joseph and Rose Kennedy engaged their children in deep conversations about current news, politics, and history (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum par. 2).
RFK married Ethel Skakel in 1950; his wife was a daughter of George Skakel, who founded the Great Lakes Carbon Corporation. During their marriage, Robert and Ethel had eleven children. The political career of RFK had started in 1952 when he became his older brother John Kennedy’s manager during his campaign to become a representative for the State of Massachusetts in the United States Senate. When in 1960 John F. Kennedy decided to run for the presidency, Robert was by his side as a manager. Furthermore, after JFK’s election, Robert was appointed the Attorney General in the president’s office. During his course of serving as Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy was greatly praised for his Department of Justice administration often characterized as effective and non-partisan.
After the assassination of his brother, Robert F. Kennedy had resigned from his Attorney General position to become a representative for the state of New York in the U.S. Senate in 1964. In 1968, RFK announced about his intentions to run for the presidency as the Democratic Party representative. The public had been uplifted by his ideas to end violence and war in Vietnam (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum par. 2).
Robert Francis Kennedy was assassinated on June the 5th, 1968, the very evening he received glory in the primary election in the state of California. According to the evidence presented by medics, RFK was killed from shots to his back and head (Roberts par. 7).
Remarkable Contributions
During his work on the position of Attorney General, Robert Kennedy achieved success in launching anti-organized crime campaigns. Furthermore, the rate of organized crime convictions increased by eight times. In addition to his drive against organized crime, Robert was devoted to helping African Americans fight for their right to vote. Apart from the internal affairs, Robert Kennedy was involved in helping President Kennedy make decisions about critical issues concerning external affairs. For example, in the course of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Robert Kennedy helped to create a strategy of the Cuban blockade in contrast to military actions.
In his position as the New York Senator, Robert F. Kennedy was an initiator of various campaigns targeted at addressing the needs of the oppressed and vulnerable populations of the United States. These groups included Native Americans, poor and young members of the society as well as racial and cultural minorities. His major contribution was in looking for ways to address and resolve issues linked to poverty by means of encouraging corporations to offer jobs to the unemployed.
Assassination
Robert Francis Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles where he had given a speech on his victory in his pre-election in the state of California. The 24-year-old Sirhan Sirhan was arrested as the only suspect caught in the act of shooting. However, the medical examination of RFK had shown that the bullet wounds could not strike the body from the place Sirhan had been situated. Furthermore, the examination had concluded that the second assassinator was involved in the tragic occurrence.
According to The Guardian article written by Shane O’Sullivan, there is a possibility that Robert F. Kennedy had been assassinated by the CIA under a conspiracy. Furthermore, the journalist’s research had crossed paths with an official CIA figure David Sanchez Moralez, who was known for his dislike for the Kennedy family. The examination of photographs taken during the speech of RFK showed the man who had worked for Moralez, El Gordo. He was in close proximity to Robert Kennedy and could potentially be the second shooter involved in the assassination (O’Sullivan par. 10). Thus, many say that the arrested Palestinian Sirhan was not the only person that had to be punished for the assassination of Robert Francis Kennedy, a person who would have changed a lot if had been elected the president of the United States.
Works Cited
Biography. Robert Kennedy. n.d.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Robert F. Kennedy. n.d.
O’Sullivan, Shane. Did the CIA kill Bobby Kennedy? 2006.
Roberts, Paul. President Kennedy and His Brother Robert Kennedy Were Murdered by the Military-Security Complex. 2016.