Kenny Kirk
| Kenny Kirk OG | |
 Kirk in 2019 | |
| 18th President of Georgeland | |
|---|---|
|
In office 1 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Charlton Robards |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kenneth William Kirk 27 December 1957 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Janie Kirk (m. 1985) |
Kenneth William Kirk OG (b. 27 December 1957) is a Georgeland politician, media personality and retired footballer who is currently serving as the 18th President of Georgeland. He was elected in a landslide victory on 3 May 2024 and took office on 1 July.
Born in Glasgow, Kirk's football career began in 1974 for Queen's Park F.C before his transfer to Rangers in 1979. In 1982 he began a 3-year contract in Georgeland with Chipwich F.C. and quickly became one of the team's most successful and popular players. Following his stint at Chipwich he remained in Georgeland, playing with both Santa Christina United and Lylecity F.C., and in 1986, following his marriage to a Georgelander, became a Georgeland citizen and moved to the country permanently. He retired from professional football in 1993 and was briefly the manager of Lylecity as well as becoming a professional commentator.
Prior to his political career, Kirk was best known as the voice of a series of popular commercials promoting healthy lifestyles in the 1990s. The commercials and their catchphrase, "get up and move" (or some variety of same) ran between 1996 and 2000 and gave Kirk's distinctive voice a national profile, leading to his engagement for a series of other media opportunities, including hosting several television programs, all while continuing to commentate on football.
A health advocate and philanthropist, Kirk returned to the media spotlight during the Covid-19 pandemic when he was the face and voice of the government's vaccination program, reprising his catchphrase. In 2022 Kirk was awarded Commander of the Order of Georgeland, the country's highest honour, for his charity and advocacy work.
Kirk's decision to run for the presidency surprised media commentators and, while not initially expected to win, he steadily gained in polls at the expense of establishment candidates. He was elected president on 3 May 2024 in a landslide victory with almost 50% of the primary vote, defeating his nearest rival, Kay Killebrew of the governing Georgeland Reform Alliance, by almost 30% in the two-candidate vote. Kirk, at age 66, is the oldest person to assume the presidency.
Early life and family
Kirk was born in the Pollokshields neighbourhood of Glasgow, Scotland, on 27 December 1957. His father, John Kirk, known as 'Jock' (1921-1999) was a schoolmaster who had served in the Highlanders and his mother, Florence Kirk (nee Hardy, 1925-2010) was a nurse. Kirk was the second of three children and the only boy. Kirk attended several state schools in Glasgow and Aberdeen, and lived briefly in Dublin and Lisbon as a teenager. Initially planning to become a teacher, Kirk's passion for football saw his education sidelined, playing on and eventually captaining three different school teams from 1969 to 1972.
When Kirk relocated to Georgeland, his parents also migrated and settled with their son in Lylecity. In 1986, Kirk married Janie Williams, becoming a Georgeland citizen in the process. The couple have five children - Harry (b. 1987), Tommy (b. 1989), Isla (b. 1992), Callum (b. 1996) and Jack (b. 2003). His daughter Isla and son Callum followed him into football, both making appearances for the national women's and men's teams.
Kirk, baptised as a Presbyterian, converted to Catholicism in 1986 when he married. Kirk considers himself "very devout", but has publicly disagreed with the church's positions on LGBTQ rights and the ordination of women. In 2016, Kirk converted to Anglicanism, and in 2019 became a licenced lay minister. He has been Lector of his local church in Lylecity since 2021.
Football career
Club career
After being scouted by several local teams, Kirk signed his first professional contract with Queen's Park (the team he grew up supporting) in 1974 at the age of sixteen. A powerful left-footer, Kirk became known for his aggressive attacking play and ability to shoot from long distance. He scored two goals in his debut, against Arbroath. He quickly became one of the team's most reliable players, although a serious injury to his calf in 1976 threatened his career and caused him to miss almost an entire season. He was the team's most-capped player for the 1977-78 season and the third-highest scorer in the Scottish Second Division. In March 1978, Kirk was signed by Rangers, a Premier League team, initially playing on the reserve squad but making his debut for the first squad in October against Hibernian. He was Young Player of the Year in 1977. In his four years at Rangers Kirk became known as a reliable and talented player, appearing in the Scottish Cup's final for Rangers in 1978 and 1979, though he missed the 1981 final due to illness.
In 1982, Kirk signed a three-year contract with Georgeland team Chipwich F.C., at that time one of the country's most successful clubs. International contracts were rare and just beginning to become more common - Kirk was the first Scottish player to sign a contract with a Georgeland team and his transfer fee of $220,000 was at that time the highest ever paid by a Georgeland team. Rangers' manager at the time, John Grieg, revealed that he permitted the transfer despite Kirk's value to the club because he planned to bring in new talent and diversify the club's style.
Arriving in Georgeland in time for the 1982 season, Kirk played as a forward for Chipwich, scoring a hat trick in his debut match against Doubledance FC. His appearance for the club was at the time somewhat of a novelty in Georgeland football and generated great media interest - his distinctive manner of speech and thick Glaswegian accent endeared him to fans. He made more than 200 appearances for Chipwich until transferring to Lylecity in 1986; by that time he was a Georgeland citizen and refused offers from Celtic and Manchester United to return to the UK. At Lylecity his career was less successful as the team went through a period of poor performance. In 1988 Kirk transferred to Santa Christina before returning to Chipwich again for the 1991 season.
International career
Kirk made his debut for Scotland in qualifiers for the 1978 World Cup, and was part of the national team for the cup finals held in Argentina. He performed well in the match against Peru despite the team's loss, but was sidelined due to a potential hamstring issue for the match against Iran, which was drawn. Returning to the squad for the final game against the Netherlands, Kirk was sent off in the 20th minute - the team ultimately won but did not progress to the knockout stage. He made several more appearances for Scotland in the late 1970s and early 1980s, notably scoring a hat trick against Northern Ireland in 1981. He and fellow forward Kenny Dalglish became well-known for their co-operation as well as a friendly rivalry which delighted fans. He played only one game for Scotland in the 1982 World Cup despite having secured the winning goal in their qualifying match; he scored twice against New Zealand in Scotland's opening match but was held in reserve for the remaining matches.
Once becoming a Georgeland citizen, Kirk was eligible to appear for the national side for the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, but was not selected to do so. He made one final appearance for Scotland having missed the 1986 World Cup, in a friendly against Japan in 1988. This match was Kirk's last international cap.
Retirement
Kirk played less frequently on the first team from 1988; despite being just over thirty, younger up-and-coming players began to be selected more often. Kirk, in later interviews, described this period of his life as a "misery", but said he found solace in his family and in his religion. It was at this time he began to make more frequent media appearances off the pitch. In 1990 he made his debut as a commentator for the World Cup in Italy. He continued to play for Chipwich until 1992 when he announced he would not seek to renew his contract and instead retire at the end of the 1992-93 season. He made his final appearance as a professional footballer against Belfast in the 1992 Georgeland Cup semi-final.
Media career
In 1994 Kirk began his full-time commentary career, joining the GTV commentary team for primary division and secondary division games. From August 1994 Kirk was a regular guest on GTV's football aftershow, Behind the Goal, and on World Cup special The World Game USA. In 1995, Kirk hosted a series of documentaries on the history of the game in Georgeland, Our Game. Around this time, Kirk began his association with health and fitness advocacy, making appearances on children's television on the importance of exercise and diet. He hosted Living Well with Kenny Kirk from 1996 to 1998, a lifestyle program devoted to health and welfare. In 1996 Kirk launched the HealthSmart Foundation, a charity organisation devoted to promoting healthy habits in school children.
"Get up and move"
Kirk became most well-known for a series of commercials on health and fitness in the 1990s, collectively referred to as the "get up and move" campaign. Developed by advertising firm Simpson Boyle, the commercials were sponsored by the Georgeland government in response to growing levels of obesity and diabetes. The commercials featured Kirk's voice over describing the benefits of balanced diet, regular exercise, and holistic health. At the end of each commercial, in his distinctive voice, inviting people to "get up and move". Commercials shown after the 9pm watershed featured the more risque "get off your arse and move" (the word 'arse' was banned before 9pm until media reforms in the late 1990s) - it is this version of the ad that has remained in popular memory, and this catchphrase became strongly associated with Kirk. Another variation, "get off your bum", aired before the watershed in 1999. The commercials collectively ran between 1996 and 2000 and were credited with a 25% decrease in diabetes diagnoses, although their effectiveness has been questioned.
Semi-retirement and charity work
GTV announced Kirk would no longer be a regular contributor to the commentary team in April 2002, with Kirk instead focusing on his charity work and advocacy. In 2003, Kirk was appointed a government Special Representative for Public Health, and in that capacity met with officials in the UK, USA and Australia for bilateral campaigns on the sharing of medical technologies and reforms to patents. Kirk's work with HealthSmart led him to be made a Member of the Order of Georgeland in 2005. In 2006 he was part of the World Cup commentary team.
Managerial career
Kirk was appointed manager of Lylecity F.C. in January 2007. The appointment was controversial as Kirk had been away from the pitch for fifteen years, but the club's directors, in appointing Kirk, declared they wanted someone with a proven record of understanding of the game, and that Kirk's experience in the field of health policy and advocacy would help promote the club among younger people. Under Kirk's management the club finished sixth, and was eliminated on penalties from the semi-finals of the Georgeland Cup. Kirk was criticised for his approval of the sale of the team's most reliable player, Darren Carter, to Santa Christina United in August 2007. Kirk announced in December that he would be leaving football management to return to a media and charity career. In subsequent years, Kirk has said he regrets taking the job at all.
Covid-19 pandemic
After having been largely out of the public eye for some time, with his focus mostly on his advocacy and charity, Kirk was engaged by the Georgeland government to promote vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Beginning in April 2020, Kirk appeared and voiced public information commercials on TV, social media and radio urging Georgelanders to get vaccinated - some of these commercials used a variation of his "get off your arse and move" catchphrase, including "get off your arse and get jabbed" and "get off your arse and go". The campaign was highly successful, with independent health research body the Health Council crediting it with being one reason for Georgeland's high vaccine uptake. Kirk, as a health advocate, publicly stated he was very firmly in favour of the Covid lockdowns and restrictions, even those that were particularly harsh, as a way of reducing the disease's spread. Kirk made several appearances on television in defence of government health policy, including one on GBC's Question Period program where he clashed with anti-vaccine advocate Deborah Williams, accusing her of spreading disinformation to further her own agenda. When asked by host David Grech if he was calling Williams a liar, Kirk responded "I'm calling her a liar, aye, she's lying, aye." Williams threatened to sue Kirk for defamation and Kirk, on August 18 2021, issued a statement retracting his words. Nevertheless, "she's lying, aye" became somewhat of another catchphrase, especially on Twitter where it was often used to attack anti-vaccine advocates.
Presidential campaign
Having returned to prominence during the Covid-19 campaign, Kirk announced his candidacy for the presidency on 19 February 2024. He pledged to campaign on 'getting back to normal' as well as positioning himself as an anti-establishment, but not radical or maverick, candidate. Kirk, who had never held any elected office or even been a political candidate, said his presidency would be about 'keeping the country's morale up' and promoting causes such as charity and public health. Running as an independent candidate, Kirk's campaign captured public attention and media coverage for most of the election period, and initial polling had him on as much as 20% of the vote in a crowded field. As the campaign progressed, Kirk avoided controversy and positioned himself as the candidate best placed to work with any government and avoid scandal. When the incumbent president, Charlton Robards, unilaterally expelled the Israeli ambassador on 12 April (in response to Israel's bombing of United Nations aid workers in Gaza), Kirk said he would not have done this as president due to it being an abuse of power, but expressed a desire for the conflict to be peacefully resolved. A wide-ranging interview with the GBC's Douglas Williams on April 22, and an impressive performance in the campaign's only debate on April 28, went a considerable way to addressing concern's about Kirk's inexperience, showing he had a firm grasp of constitutional process, the role of the president, and of the risks of electing him.
Kirk never rose above 25% in polls, but in two-candidate polls consistently showed level or ahead of his two main rivals, fellow independent and billionaire Mark Logan and the government's candidate, former senator Kay Killebrew. On election day, Kirk confounded polls and pundits by polling almost 48% nationwide, with exit polls suggesting that while overall turnout was low, traditional voters for other parties including the government had not turned out, while Kirk's supporters had. After preferences, Kirk polled over 64% against Killebrew, the largest margin in a presidential election since 1937.
Kirk took office on 1 July 2024.