James A. Baker III

James A. Baker III
Name	James A. Baker III
Caption	Official portrait, c. 1989
Office	61st United States Secretary of State
President	George H. W. Bush
Term start	January 25, 1989
Term end	August 23, 1992
Predecessor	George P. Shultz
Successor	Lawrence Eagleburger
Office1	67th United States Secretary of the Treasury
President1	Ronald Reagan
Term start1	February 4, 1985
Term end1	August 17, 1988
Predecessor1	Donald Regan
Successor1	Nicholas F. Brady
Office2	White House Chief of Staff
President2	Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford
Term start2	January 20, 1981
Term end2	February 3, 1985
Predecessor2	Jack Watson
Successor2	Donald Regan
Term start3	August 1974
Term end3	November 1974
Predecessor3	Alexander Haig
Successor3	Donald Rumsfeld
Party	Republican
Alma mater	Princeton University (BA), University of Texas School of Law (JD)
Birth date	28 April 1930
Birth place	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Spouse	Mary Stuart McHenry (m. 1953; died 1970), Susan Garrett Winston (m. 1973)
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Serviceyears	1952–1954
Rank	First Lieutenant

James A. Baker III is an American attorney, diplomat, and statesman who served in senior cabinet positions for two Republican presidents. Renowned as a master political strategist and negotiator, his career was defined by pivotal roles managing domestic policy and shaping American foreign policy during the closing years of the Cold War. He served as White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, Secretary of the Treasury under Reagan, and Secretary of State under President George H. W. Bush.

Early life and education

Born into a prominent Houston family, he is the grandson of a founder of the Baker Botts law firm. He attended the Hill School in Pottstown before earning a Bachelor of Arts in American history from Princeton University in 1952. He then served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps until 1954. Following his military service, he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law in 1957, where he was an editor of the Texas Law Review.

Legal and early political career

After graduation, he joined the Baker Botts firm in Houston, practicing corporate law. His political career began in 1970 after the death of his first wife, when his friend George H. W. Bush encouraged him to become involved in politics. He managed Bush's unsuccessful 1970 Senate campaign against Lloyd Bentsen. He later served as Under Secretary of Commerce for President Gerald Ford in 1975, after a brief tenure as a deputy at the Commerce Department. He managed Ford's 1976 primary campaign and later served as national campaign chairman for Bush's 1980 presidential primary bid against Ronald Reagan.

Tenure as White House Chief of Staff

Appointed White House Chief of Staff by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, he became part of the influential "Troika" managing the White House, alongside Edwin Meese and Michael Deaver. He was a key architect of Reagan's early legislative successes, including the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. He played a central role in crisis management, including the aftermath of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings and the planning for Reagan's historic 1984 visit to China. He also oversaw Reagan's successful 1984 re-election campaign.

Service as Secretary of the Treasury

In 1985, he swapped jobs with Donald Regan to become the 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury. In this role, he was a principal architect of the Plaza Accord, a 1985 agreement among the G5 nations to devalue the U.S. dollar. He also helped negotiate the Baker Plan, a strategy for resolving the Latin American debt crisis. Domestically, he was a chief advocate for the Tax Reform Act of 1986, one of the most significant overhauls of the Internal Revenue Code in history.

Role as Secretary of State

As Secretary of State for President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1992, he was instrumental in managing American diplomacy during a period of extraordinary global change. He helped build the broad international coalition during the Gulf War following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. He navigated the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Germany, securing critical agreements with Mikhail Gorbachev and Helmut Kohl. He also launched the Madrid Conference of 1991, initiating the first direct peace talks between Israel and its Arab neighbors, including a joint delegation from Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Later career and legacy

After leaving government, he returned to the law firm of Baker Botts and served as a senior partner. He was called back to public service in 2000 to lead the Republican legal team during the Bush v. Gore dispute over the 2000 presidential election in Florida. He later served as the United Nations Special Envoy for Western Sahara and as co-chair of the Iraq Study Group. He is widely regarded as one of the most effective cabinet officers and strategists of the late 20th century, earning a reputation for pragmatic, non-ideological deal-making and exceptional managerial skill in both domestic and international arenas.

Category:1930 births Category:United States Secretaries of State Category:United States Secretaries of the Treasury Category:White House Chiefs of Staff