Kenneth O'Donnell

Kenneth O'Donnell
White House Appointments Secretary
In office
January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Preceded byThomas Stephens (Appointments Secretary)
Wilton Persons (Chief of Staff)
Succeeded byJack Valenti (Appointments Secretary)
Walter Jenkins (Chief of Staff, de facto)
Personal details
Born
Kenneth Patrick O'Donnell

(1924-03-04)March 4, 1924
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedSeptember 9, 1977(1977-09-09) (aged 53)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting placeHolyhood Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Helen Sullivan
(m. 1947; died 1977)
Asta Steinfatt
(m. 1977)
Children5
Parent(s)Alice Guerin
Cleo Albert O'Donnell
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Boston College (LLB)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army Air Forces
Years of service1942–1945
Battles/warsWorld War II

Kenneth Patrick O'Donnell[1] (March 4, 1924 – September 9, 1977) was an American political consultant and the special assistant and appointments secretary to President John F. Kennedy from 1961 until Kennedy's assassination in November 1963. O'Donnell was a close friend of President Kennedy and his younger brother Robert F. Kennedy. O'Donnell, along with Larry O'Brien and David Powers, was part of the group of Kennedy's close advisers dubbed the "Irish Mafia."[2]

O'Donnell also served as an aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1963 to 1965. He later served as an adviser to Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign.

  1. ^ "Kenneth Patrick O'Donnell." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 10: 1976–1980. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1995.
  2. ^ Barnes, Bart (March 28, 1998). "JFK Aide David Francis Powers Dies at 85". The Washington Post. p. B06. Retrieved March 13, 2023.