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Gary Locke

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For other people named Gary Locke, see Gary Locke (disambiguation).

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Gary Locke
United States Ambassador to China
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 1, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJon Huntsman, Jr.
36th United States Secretary of Commerce
In office
March 26, 2009 – August 1, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
DeputyDennis Hightower
Rebecca Blank (Acting)
Preceded byCarlos Gutierrez
Succeeded byRebecca Blank (Acting)
21st Governor of Washington
In office
January 15, 1997 – January 12, 2005
LieutenantBrad Owen
Preceded byMike Lowry
Succeeded byChristine Gregoire
5th King County Executive
In office
January 4, 1994 – January 15, 1997
Preceded byTim Hill
Succeeded byRon Sims
Member of the Washington House of Representatives
from the 37th district
In office
January 10, 1983 – January 3, 1994
Preceded byPeggy Maxie
Succeeded byVivian Caver
Personal details
Born (1950-01-21) January 21, 1950 (age 74)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic Party
SpouseMona Lee
ChildrenEmily Nicole
Dylan James
Madeline Lee
Alma materYale University
Boston University
Gary Locke
Portrait of Gary Locke as Governor
Traditional Chinese駱家輝
Simplified Chinese骆家辉
JyutpingLok3 Gaa1-fai1
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLuò Jiāhuī
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingLok3 Gaa1-fai1

Gary Faye Locke Chinese: 駱家輝(born January 21, 1950) is an American politician and the current United States Ambassador to China.

Locke was the 21st Governor of Washington, serving from 1997 to 2005. He was the first governor of a state in the Continental United States of Asian descent, and is the only Chinese American ever to serve as a governor.[1] He was then appointed by President Barack Obama as United States Secretary of Commerce which he served until August 1, 2011, when President Obama appointed Locke as the ambassador to the People's Republic of China.

Family and education

Locke was born on January 21, 1950, in Seattle, Washington. A third-generation American with paternal ancestry from Taishan, Guangdong, China, Locke is the second of five children of James Locke, who served as a staff sergeant in the United States Army's Fifth Armored Division during World War II,[2] and his wife Julie, who is from Hong Kong, which at that time was a British crown colony. He did not learn to speak English until he was five years old and entered school.[3]

Locke graduated with honors from Seattle’s Franklin High School in 1968. He achieved Eagle Scout and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.[3][4]

Through a combination of part-time jobs, financial aid and scholarships, Locke attended Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1972.[5] He later received his Juris Doctor from the Boston University School of Law in 1975.

On October 15, 1994, he married Mona Lee, a television reporter for the NBC affiliate KING 5 television in Seattle and former Miss Asian America. She is also of Chinese ancestry, her father coming from Shanghai and her mother from Hubei Province. The Lockes have three children: Emily Nicole, born in March 1997, Dylan James, born in March 1999 and Madeline Lee, born in November 2004.[6]

Washington state

In 1982, Locke's South Seattle district elected him to the Washington House of Representatives, where he served as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Eleven years later, Locke made history by becoming the first Chinese American to be elected King County's County Executive, defeating Tim Hill. In 1996, he won the primary and general elections for governor, becoming the first Chinese American governor in United States history. However, his political committee was fined $2,500 by regulators in 1997 after admitting to state campaign finance law violations during his successful campaign.[7] Locke easily won re-election in the 2000 governor's race.

Democrats criticized Locke for embracing the Republican Party's no-new-taxes approach to dealing with Washington's budget woes during and after the 2001 economic turmoil. Among his spending-reduction proposals were laying off thousands of state employees; reducing health coverage; freezing most state employees' pay; and cutting funding for nursing homes and programs for the developmentally disabled. In his final budget, Locke suspended two voter-passed, pro-school initiatives and cut state education funding.

Supported by the state's political left, former Washington Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge announced his plans to challenge Locke in the 2004 Democratic primary. Talmadge ended his campaign early for health reasons.

On the national stage, Democrats saw Gary Locke as a possible vice-presidential choice. In 1997, Locke was a guest at that year's State of the Union.[8]

He was chosen to give his party's response to George W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.[9] In a surprise move, Locke announced in July 2003 that he would not seek a third term,[10] saying, "Despite my deep love of our state, I want to devote more time to my family."[10]

Susan Paynter, a columnist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, suggested that racist slurs, insults, and threats that Locke and his family received, especially the large number which came after his rebuttal to George W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union address, played a role in Locke's decision to leave office after two terms.[11] The governor's office received hundreds of threatening letters and e-mails; others threatened to kill his children.[11]

Locke left office on January 12, 2005. If the disputed 2004 election between Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi had not been resolved by then, Locke would, under Washington's constitution, have remained in office until a successor qualified.[12]

After leaving office, Locke joined the Seattle office of international law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, in their China and governmental-relations practice groups. During the leadup to the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Governor Locke signed on as Washington co-chairman of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's bid for president.[13]

United States Secretary of Commerce

See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet

On December 4, 2008, the Associated Press reported that Locke was a potential candidate for Secretary of the Interior in then-President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet. Eventually, then-Colorado Senator, Ken Salazar, was nominated for that position instead.

On February 25, 2009, Locke was announced as President Barack Obama's choice for Secretary of Commerce.[7] His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on March 24, 2009.[14] Locke was sworn in March 26, 2009, by District judge Richard A. Jones.[15] He was sworn in by President Obama on May 1, 2009. He is the first Chinese American Secretary of Commerce, and one of three Asian Americans in Obama's cabinet, joining Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the most of any administration. Politico has reported Locke has been a popular cabinet member among both business and the executive branch.[16]

Ambassador to China

Following the resignation of Jon Huntsman, Jr., Locke was nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.[17] The Senate confirmed him by unanimous consent on July 27, 2011.[18] On August 1, 2011, Locke resigned as Commerce Secretary and took up his new post.[19] A photo of Locke carrying his own backpack and ordering his own coffee at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport went viral on the Sina Weibo social network, where he was praised by many Chinese for his frugality.[20][21]

On his first news conference after arrival in Beijing, Locke pledged to promote bilateral cooperation and understanding between the two countries.[22]

References

  1. ^ Gilbert Cruz (February 25, 2009). "Commerce Secretary: Gary Locke". Time. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  2. ^ http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/01/16/1504584/jimmy-locke-father-of-former-gov.html
  3. ^ a b "Remarks by President Obama and Commerce Secretary Nominee Gary Locke". Whitehouse.gov. February 25, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  4. ^ Frank Chesley (June 29, 2006). "Locke, Gary Faye (b. 1950)". HistoryLink. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  5. ^ "Biography of Governor Gary Locke". Who's Who of Asian Americans. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
  6. ^ http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/governorlocke/bios/bio.htm
  7. ^ a b Sidoti, Liz (February 25, 2009). "Obama selected Locke to run Commerce Department". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Retrieved February 25, 2009. [dead link]
  8. ^ Clinton, Bill (February 4, 1997). "Remarks By The President In State Of The Union Address". The White House. Retrieved February 24, 2009. Gary Locke, the newly elected Governor of Washington State, is the first Chinese American governor in the history of our country. He's the proud son of two of the millions of Asian American immigrants who have strengthened America with their hard work, family values and good citizenship. He represents the future we can all achieve. Thank you, Governor, for being here. Please stand up.
  9. ^ "Democractic Leaders Announce Governor Gary Locke Will Deliver the Democratic Response to State of the Union Address" (Press release). Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. January 15, 2003. Retrieved February 24, 2009. Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced today that Governor Gary Locke of Washington state will deliver the Democratic response to President Bush's State of the Union address.
  10. ^ a b "Gov. Gary Locke Announces He Will Not Seek a Third Term" (Press release). Washington State Office of the Governor. July 21, 2003. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
  11. ^ a b Paynter, Susan (July 26, 2003). "Threats to Locke's family are a factor in third-term decision". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved December 17, 2007.
  12. ^ Staff reporter (December 23, 2004). "Wash. Recount Favors Democratic Challenger". Associated Press. Retrieved February 24, 2009. If the legal fighting does not produce a new governor by the scheduled Jan. 12 inauguration, lame-duck Gov. Gary Locke, a Democrat, may have to stick around. That is because of a provision of the state constitution that says the governor's term of office is four years "and until his successor is elected and qualified.
  13. ^ Ammons, David (October 7, 2007). "Ex-governor Locke named Clinton state co-chair". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  14. ^ "U.S. Senate Confirms Gary Locke as Commerce Secretary". United States Department of Commerce. March 24, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  15. ^ O'Keefe, Ed (March 27, 2009). "Locke Officially Leading Commerce". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 29, 2009.
  16. ^ "CEOs: Locke Obama's Secret Weapon". Politico.
  17. ^ Song, Kyung M. (March 9, 2011). "Obama officially nominates Locke as China envoy". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  18. ^ http://www.senate.gov/galleries/pdcl/index.htm
  19. ^ Nagesh, Gautham (August 1, 2011). "Commerce Secretary Gary Locke resigns to become Ambassador to China". The Hill. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  20. ^ "Gary Locke charms China by carrying own bag". Seattle Times/The Associated Press. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  21. ^ Patrick Mattimore (August 19, 2011). "Beijing welcomes you, Ambassador Locke". China Daily. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  22. ^ "New U.S. Ambassador Pledged to Promote Cooperation between U.S. and China". The China Times. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gary Locke.
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Political offices
Preceded by King County Executive
1994–1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Washington
1997–2005 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to China
2011–present 		Incumbent

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