Raymond Kelly

Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is 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.

Kelly was born in 1941 and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, to James F. Kelly, a milkman, and Elizabeth Kelly, a dressing-room checker at Macy's. A fitness buff since his teens, Kelly still regularly lifts weights and does aerobic exercises.

He is also a fashionable dresser, favoring custom-made shirts that he takes to Geneva, a shirtmaker, for laundering.

He also favors silk ties by Charvet.

"A tie is the only true way men can make some sort of statement", Kelly has stated, citing Barack Obama as another fan of the high-end French label.

"I can tell when someone's wearing Charvet from a distance – even dark colors stand out."

Claiming that good-quality clothing enhances his public image as an authority figure, he orders custom hand-tailored suits from master tailor Martin Greenfield, who numbers politicians and movie stars among his clientele and whose suits run in the four figures.

Kelly met his future wife Veronica on the beach at Island Park, New York, where his family had a summer residence.

Kelly is the father of Greg Kelly, former co-host of the local Fox morning television show Good Day New York.

Currently host on Newsmax TV and weekday program on New York's WABC radio

Kelly is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War.

Kelly graduated from Archbishop Molloy High School in 1959.

Kelly joined the New York City Police Department as a police trainee in 1960.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Manhattan College in 1963.

He also holds a J.D. from the St. John's University School of Law, a LL.M. from the New York University School of Law, and an M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School.

Kelly has also been the recipient of honorary degrees from Marist College, Manhattan College, the College of St. Rose, St. John's University, the State University of New York, New York University, Iona College, Pace University, Quinnipiac University, St. Thomas Aquinas College and the Catholic University of America.

He received his commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1963.

In 1965, he went to the Republic of Vietnam with the 2nd Battalion 1st Marines.

As a first lieutenant in Vietnam, Kelly led Marines in battle for most of his 12 months in country, including participation in Operation Harvest Moon.

Upon returning to the U.S., Raymond Kelly joined the Reserves and retired after 30 years of service with the rank of colonel from the Marine Corps Reserves.

Six years later in 1966, Kelly was appointed to the entry level rank of Patrolman.

He graduated first in his class from the New York City Police Academy and passed the sergeant's test upon returning from Vietnam.

This meteoric ascent combined with relative inexperience as a beat cop has prompted some criticisms from colleagues.

Geoffrey Gray wrote in New York Magazine that, "Some retired cops say Kelly's swift ascent makes him a boss who doesn't understand the street. 'He's not a cop,' says one retired chief, dismissively. 'He's on patrol for a blink of an eye and tells guys on patrol ten years how to do their jobs.' Says another, 'He gives you all the ingredients to make shrimp scampi and says he wants sirloin steak.'"

However, his long service stands in stark contrast to that of his predecessor, Bernard Kerik.

Kerik served as an NYPD officer for only 8 years before he was appointed commissioner by Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

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.

On February 9, 1990 Kelly was appointed First Deputy Commissioner during the administration of Mayor David Dinkins.

Kelly's boss was New York City Police Commissioner Lee Brown, who was a former Houston Police Chief and the future mayor of Houston.

Kelly was promoted from a Two-Star Assistant Chief to the First Deputy position over several Three-Star Bureau Chiefs and the Four-Star Chief of Department, Robert J. Johnston Jr.

At the time Johnston was so powerful, Brown altered the traditional hierarchy by announcing that Johnston would report directly to the Police Commissioner rather than the First Deputy as had been called for under the former departmental structure.

This was done to prevent Johnston from having to report to his former subordinate, Kelly.

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.

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.

After Kelly turned down the position, Louis Freeh was appointed.

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.

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

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.

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".