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James Baker

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For other uses, see James Baker (disambiguation).
James Baker
67th United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office
February 4, 1985 – August 17, 1988
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byDonald T. Regan
Succeeded byNicholas F. Brady
61st United States Secretary of State
In office
January 20, 1989 – August 23, 1992
PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush
Preceded byGeorge P. Shultz
Succeeded byLawrence Eagleburger
13th White House Chief of Staff
In office
January 20, 1981 – February 3, 1985
Preceded by Jack Watson
Succeeded byDonald T. Regan
Personal details
Born (1930-04-28) April 28, 1930 (age 94)
Houston, Texas
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSusan Garrett
Professionlawyer/politician

James Addison Baker III (born April 28 1930) served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration, Secretary of the Treasury from 1985 to 1988 in the second Reagan administration, and Secretary of State in the administration of President George H. W. Bush. He is also the founder of the James Baker Institute.

Early political career

Originally a Democrat, Baker switched to the Republican party and managed the ultimately unsuccessful Senate campaign of his longtime friend, George H.W. Bush in 1970.

He served as Undersecretary of Commerce under President Gerald Ford in 1975 and ran Ford's unsuccessful re-election campaign in 1976. Baker ran an unsuccessful race in 1978 to become State Attorney General of Texas.

"The Troika" (from left to right) Chief of Staff James Baker, Counsellor to the President Ed Meese, Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver at the White House. 12/2/81.

Reagan administration

After serving as George H.W. Bush's campaign manager in the 1980 Republican primaries, Baker was named White House Chief of Staff by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. He served in that capacity until 1985. Baker is seen as wielding a high degree of influence over the successes and failures of the first Reagan administration, particularly in domestic policy.

After managing Reagan's wildly successful reelection campaign in 1984, Reagan appointed Baker Secretary of the Treasury in January of 1985 — he "switched roles" with the former Secretary of the Treasury, Donald Regan, who replaced Baker as Chief of Staff. While serving as Treasury Secretary, he organized the Plaza Accord of September 1985 and the Baker Plan to target international debt.

During the Reagan administration Baker also served on the Economic Policy Council, where he played an instrumental role in achieving the passage of the administration's tax and budget reform legislation package in 1981.

Baker served on Reagan's National Security Council, and remained Treasury Secretary through 1988, during which year he also served as campaign chairman for Bush's successful presidential bid.

Bush administration

Baker arriving in Kuwait, 1991

George H.W. Bush appointed Baker Secretary of State in 1989. Baker served in this role through 1992 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991. From 1992 to 1993, he served as Bush's White House Chief of Staff, the same position that he had held during the first Reagan administration.

Post-cabinet career

1993-2000

In 1993 Baker became the founding chair of the James A. Baker III Institute of Public Policy at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

He helped to construct the 34-nation alliance that fought alongside the United States in the Gulf War.

In 1995 Baker published his memoirs of service as Secretary of State in a book entitled The Politics of Diplomacy: Revolution, War and Peace, 1989-1992 (ISBN 0-399-14087-5).

In March 1997 Baker became the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara[1]. In June 2004 he resigned from this position, frustrated over the lack of progress in reaching a complete settlement acceptable to both the government of Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front. He left behind the Baker II plan, accepted as a suitable basis of negotiations by the Polisario and unanimously endorsed by the Security Council, but rejected by Morocco.

Baker's signature, as used on American currency

Involvement with George W. Bush & the Iraq War

Template:List to prose (section)

Baker served as chief legal adviser for George W. Bush during the 2000 election campaign and oversaw the Florida recount. He was instrumental in getting the Supreme Court to intervene in the Florida vote recount.[citation needed] Over 200,000 ballots were not counted due to problems with punch card ballots. [2]. He was until 2005 senior counsel to the Carlyle Group and is currently a senior partner at the law firm of Baker Botts.

In late 2003 he was drafted by the President to assist in the operations of the US-led occupation of Iraq. He is also a special envoy to the president to persuade other countries to relieve Iraqi debts.[citation needed]

State of Denial, a book by investigative reporter Bob Woodward, says that White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card urged President Bush to replace Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with Baker following the 2004 election.

On 5 January 2006, he participated in a meeting at the White House of former Secretaries of Defense and State to discuss United States foreign policy with Bush administration officials.[citation needed]

On 15 March 2006, Congress announced the formation of the Iraq Study Group, of which he is the Republican co-chair along with Lee Hamilton.

On 13 September 2006, a news report suggested that Baker is quietly involved with advising President George W. Bush on Iraq. [3] On October 8th, the Washington Post reported that Baker is "the Republican co-chairman of a bipartisan commission tasked by Congress with assessing U.S. options in Iraq," and quoted him as saying "our commission believes that there are alternatives between the stated alternatives, the ones that are out there in the political debate, of 'stay the course' and 'cut and run.'"[4]

File:Nypost surrender monkeys.jpg
N.Y. Post cover from Dec. 7, 2006

On 8 October 2006 he said that there are alternatives in Iraq for the United States other than the stay-the-course-policy of President George W. Bush's administration.[citation needed] Baker was co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, a high-level panel of prominent former officials charged by members of Congress with taking a fresh look at America's policy on Iraq. The panel, co-chaired by former Democratic Representative Lee H. Hamilton, examined a number of ideas, including one that would create a new power-sharing arrangement in Iraq that would give more autonomy to regional factions.[5]

Other Activities

Azerbaijan has formal involvement with James Baker as he serves on the Honorary Council of Advisers for the U.S. Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce.

Personal life

He and his wife, the former Susan Garrett, have six sons and two daughters. His first wife, the former Mary Stuart McHenry of Dayton, Ohio, died of breast cancer in 1970.

On June 15, 2002, Graeme Baker, the 7-year-old granddaughter of Baker, daughter of Nancy and James Baker IV, was the victim of suction entrapment[6].

Baker is a brother of Phi Delta Theta at his alma mater the University of Texas.

Further reading

Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate, Robert Bryce, New York: Perseus Books Group, 2004.

" 'Work Hard, Study... And Keep Out of Politics!': Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life", James A. Baker III, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2006.

"The Politics of Diplomacy", James A. Baker III, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995.

Footnotes

Template:U.S. Secretary boxTemplate:U.S. Secretary box
Preceded by White House Chief of Staff
1981–1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by White House Chief of Staff
1992–1993 		Succeeded by
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