SCENARIOS: Kirk bring political skills to trade post

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, chosen by President-elect Barack Obama on Friday to be U.S. trade representative, brings a politician's skill to a job that puts him on the frontline of trade battles in Congress.

Kirk, who is not well-known in Washington trade circles even though he worked here in the 1980s and 1990s, would be the first black man to fill the post. As an outsider, he carries no scars from the sometimes bitter trade fights between Republicans and Democrats over the past eight years.

If confirmed, he would hold the title of ambassador and is likely to spend much time abroad. But he has far less international recognition than Obama's pick to lead the Commerce Department, Bill Richardson.

Here are some details on his background and the difficult issues he will confront:

HIS BACKGROUND

From 1995 until 2001, Kirk was the mayor of Dallas, the ninth largest city in the United States. He is currently a partner in the Dallas office of the law firm Vinson and Elkins, specializing in public finance and public policy.

He campaigned for Obama, saying that Hillary Clinton was too divisive a figure to effectively govern.

Kirk ran for the U.S. Senate in 2002, but lost that open-seat contest to current Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican.

He was an aide to Sen. Lloyd Bentsen during the 1980s and followed Bentsen to the Treasury Department in 1993, when President Bill Clinton tapped the Texas Democrat to be his first Treasury Secretary.