Raymond Kelly

Raymond Kelly
37th and 41st Police Commissioner of New York City
In office
January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2013
MayorMichael Bloomberg
Preceded byBernie Kerik
Succeeded byBill Bratton
In office
September 1, 1992 – January 1, 1994
Acting: September 1, 1992 – October 16, 1992
MayorDavid Dinkins
Preceded byLee Brown
Succeeded byBill Bratton
16th Commissioner of the United States Customs Service
In office
July 31, 1998 – January 19, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byGeorge Weise
Succeeded byRobert Bonner
Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
In office
June 3, 1996 – July 30, 1998
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byRonald Noble
Succeeded byJim Johnson
Personal details
Born
Raymond Walter Kelly

(1941-09-04) September 4, 1941 (age 83)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyIndependent[1]
SpouseVeronica
Children2, including Greg
EducationManhattan University (BA)
St. John's University (JD)
New York University (LLM)
Harvard Kennedy School (MPA)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Marine Corps
Years of service1963–1966 (active)
1966–1996 (reserve)
Rank Colonel
Battles/warsVietnam War
Police Career
Department New York City Police Department
Service years1960–1994
2002–2013
Rank Commissioner

Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is an American police officer who was the longest-serving Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first person to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. According to its website, Kelly, a lifelong New Yorker, had spent 45 years in the NYPD, serving in 25 different commands and as Police Commissioner from 1992 to 1994 and again from 2002 until 2013. Kelly was the first man to rise from Police Cadet to Police Commissioner, holding all of the department's ranks, except for Three-Star Bureau Chief, Chief of Department and Deputy Commissioner, having been promoted directly from Two-Star Chief to First Deputy Commissioner in 1990.[2] After his handling of the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, he was mentioned for the first time as a possible candidate for FBI Director.[3][4] After Kelly turned down the position, Louis Freeh was appointed.[4]

Kelly was a Marine Corps Reserve colonel, director of police under the United Nations Mission in Haiti, and an Interpol vice president. During the Clinton administration, Kelly served as Treasury Department Under Secretary for Enforcement, as Customs Service Commissioner and was in the running to become the first United States Ambassador to Vietnam, after President Bill Clinton extended full diplomatic relations to that country in 1995.[5]

In March 2011, New York Senator Chuck Schumer endorsed Kelly to become the next director of the FBI,[6] and in July 2013, he endorsed Kelly to become Secretary of Homeland Security.[7]

In March 2014, he was appointed as President of Risk Management Services at Cushman & Wakefield, a New York City-based commercial real estate services firm.[8] In 2015, the New York Post reported that Kelly was considering a run for New York City Mayor, citing his "Love for New York City".[9]

  1. ^ Lipsky, Seth (November 11, 2015). "For love of New York City: Why Ray Kelly might run". New York Post. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  2. ^ Steinhauer, Jennifer; Rashbaum, William K. (May 24, 2004), "In Age of Terror, Police Leader Gains in Access and Influence", The New York Times
  3. ^ "Kelly Said to Be Pick As Director of F.B.I." New York Times. 20 May 1993. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Mr. Kelly's name had come up in conversations between the White House and the Justice Department, as have at least two other names, those of Louis J. Freeh, a Federal judge in the Southern District of New York, and Richard G. Stearns, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge.
  4. ^ a b "The Commish". The Brian Lehrer Show. 2007-10-19.; (video of broadcast)
  5. ^ Shain, Michael (July 14, 1995), "Can New Viet Envoy Be Our Own Ray Kelly?", Newsday, pp. A15
  6. ^ Lemire, Jonathan .(March 13, 2011). Sen. Charles Schumer loves idea of NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly taking over FBI Daily News Hoboken, NJ Archived(Tabloid) on December 13, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  7. ^ Robillard, Kevin; Wong, Scott (July 12, 2013). "Names already popping as possible Janet Napolitano replacements". POLITICO. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  8. ^ RAYMOND W. KELLY NAMED PRESIDENT OF RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES-March 5, 2014-Cushman & Wakefield
  9. ^ Lipsky, Seth (November 11, 2015). "For love of New York City: Why Ray Kelly might run". New York Post. Retrieved December 30, 2015.