Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, has been named as CEO of Turning Point USA.
Her husband, who was shot and killed last week during an event at Utah Valley University, co-founded the organization at 18 and remained at its helm until his death.
The organization’s board announced the appointment in an X post on Thursday.
“The Turning Point Board has unanimously elected Erika Kirk as the new CEO and Chair of the Board. In prior discussions, Charlie expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted in the event of his death,” it wrote.
Turning Point USA was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk and William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, to speak on college campuses in support of low taxes and limited government.
It was not an immediate success but Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.
President Donald Trump, Vice-President JD Vance and other U.S officials are set to speak at a memorial for Kirk on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.