[26], The 1992 election was complicated by the on-again-off-again candidacy of Ross Perot, who would end up taking 19% of the popular vote. He resigned as Treasury Secretary to manage Bush's successful 1988 campaign for president. [26], More tensions rose in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with a massive influx of Jewish people from the Soviet Union moved to Israel. "G.O.P. Mr. Baker served as Chairman until his death on Aug. 2, 1941. Several people who were at the party then tried to revive the girl, who was taken by helicopter to Inova Fairfax Hospital and pronounced dead. They have one child. Journalism power-couple Susan Glasser, a staff writer at the New Yorker, and Peter Baker, the New York Times' chief White House correspondent, have cowritten The Man Who Ran Washington, a biography of former Secretary of State and White House chief of staff James A. Baker III, arguably the 20th century's savviest DC power player.. Baker played a role in nearly every major event near the . [19], On January 9, 1991, during the Geneva Peace Conference with Tariq Aziz in Geneva, Baker declared that "If there is any user of (chemical or biological weapons), our objectives won't just be the liberation of Kuwait, but the elimination of the current Iraqi regime."[20] Baker later acknowledged that the intent of this statement was to threaten a retaliatory nuclear strike on Iraq,[21] and the Iraqis received his message. Bakers Historic Contributions, Statement: Secretary Baker on the Death of Bob Dole. As treasury secretary, he was also chairman of the President's Economic Policy Council. They claimed that Baker, a former Democrat and a Bush political intimate, was undermining conservative initiatives in the administration. James A. Baker III '52: A Tribute to George Shultz '42 first appeared in the December 2021 issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly. After two years of active duty as a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, he entered The University of Texas School of Law at Austin. Fax: 713-348-5993. Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved, the fight in Congress over the loan guarantees. Andrew Baker, a chaplain during the Rev. "The FBI's top lawyer, James Baker, is being reassigned one of the first moves by new director Christopher A. Wray to assemble his own team of senior advisers as he tries to fend off. by Peter Dreier. The event, sponsored by the James Baker . Baker has a sister, Bonner Baker Moffitt. Family (1) Trivia (10) U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1985-1988 in the second Ronald Reagan administration. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991. He was a fifth generation. 492, 505. Hall. Reach out to the Palestinians as neighbors who deserve political rights. Bakers use of the term Greater Israel and his insistence on criticizing both sides of the conflict, not just the Palestinians, was received negatively by AIPACs leadership. Bush. Jim Baker's War. [18] In the Bush administration, Baker was a proponent of the notion that the USSR should be kept territorially intact, arguing that it would be destabilizing to have the USSR's nuclear arsenal in multiple new states. They claimed that Baker, a former Democrat and a Bush political intimate, was undermining conservative initiatives in the administration. Reagan appointed Baker as his White House Chief of Staff, and Baker remained in that position until 1985, when he became the Secretary of the Treasury. Baker was the Republican co-chairman along with Democratic Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, to advise Congress on Iraq. Baker also advised George W. Bush on Iraq. By Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. In 1991 Baker was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For three decades and more, James A Baker III was the face of American power. Baker is considered to have had a high degree of influence over the first Reagan administration, particularly in domestic policy. The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity. The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III, by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, is published by Doubleday, priced $35. In 1973, Baker and Susan Garrett Winston, a close friend of Mary Stuart's, were married. On June 15, 2002, Virginia Graeme Baker, the 7-year-old granddaughter of Baker, daughter of Nancy and James Baker IV, was the victim of suction-pump entrapment in an in-ground spa. They didnt vote for us., The word Jews didnt actually appear in the quote, but an editor at the Post inserted it in parentheses, presumably to help the readers understand who Baker was supposedly referring to. Though Bush lost to Lloyd Bentsen in the election, Baker continued in politics, becoming the finance chairman of the Texas Republican Party in 1971. The 23-year-old son of James A. Baker 3d, the White House chief of staff, has surrendered to the county authorities on a felony warrant charging him with delivering marijuana. Baker served in the United States Marine Corps (19521954), attaining the rank of First Lieutenant and later rising to Captain in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. But history had other plans: Bush lost the 1992 election to Bill Clinton, and the incoming Democratic president was the one who presided over the signing of the Oslo Accords and Israels peace agreement with Jordan. Baker, however, was happy with the reception, The tension between the two governments became a full-blown crisis a year later in 1990 when, as described in the book, a deputy foreign minister named Benjamin Netanyahu openly assailed the United States for being too gullible in its dealings with the Palestinians., Netanyahu, then in his early 40s and a rising star in Likud, said in remarks to the media: It is astonishing that a superpower like the United States, which was supposed to be the symbol of political fairness and international honesty, is building its policy on a foundation of distortion and lies.. He serves on the World Justice Project and the Climate Leadership Council. From 1992 to 1993, he served as Bush's White House Chief of Staff, the same position that he had held from 1981 to 1985 during the first Reagan Administration. . His wife, Susan, listens at right. In 2000, Baker served as chief legal adviser for George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential election campaign and oversaw the Florida recount. [58] Another granddaughter is Rosebud Baker, a stand-up comedian.[59]. He also played a prominent role in the Florida recount for the current president. However, Baker changed his mind about running when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. As he remembered it, the presidents team was discussing a controversial policy in the Oval Office. [51] In 2017, this group of "Republican elder statesmen" proposed that conservatives embrace a fee and dividend form of carbon tax (in which all revenue generated by the tax is rebated to the populace in the form of lump-sum dividends), as a policy to deal with anthropogenic climate change. Bushs successful campaign for the presidential election of 1988 and thereupon was appointed secretary of state. His father was a partner of Houston law firm Baker Botts. Focusing on U.S. space policy and the future of space travel. From 1997 to 2004, Baker served as the personal envoy of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to seek a political solution to the conflict over Western Sahara. Proud grandfather and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III dared graduates of his alma mater, The Hill School, on Saturday to be revolutionaries. Secretary Baker himself is actually a pretty religious person, but hes not a favorite of the evangelical wing of the party, which has long viewed him with suspicion, Peter Baker added. Josh White was The Washington Post's America desk editor. [47], Baker serves on the Honorary Council of Advisers for the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce. Baker blocked the recognition of Palestine by threatening to cut funding to agencies in the United Nations. [5] He was a member of Phi Delta Theta. Baker has a sister, Bonner Baker Moffitt. Bush. He served in that capacity until 1985. When Bush decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 1969, he supported Baker's decision to run for the Congressional seat he was vacating. [55] To promote greater safety in pools and spas, Nancy Baker gave testimony to the Consumer Product Safety Commission,[56] and James Baker helped form an advocacy group,[57] which led to the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool And Spa Safety Act (15 USC 8001). As Secretary of State, he helped oversee U.S. foreign policy during the end of the Cold War and dissolution of the Soviet Union, as well as during the Gulf War. Get email notification for articles from Amir Tibon. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Its a quote that has haunted former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker for almost three decades. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.[17]. James A. Baker III is an American government official, political manager, and lawyer who occupied important posts in theRepublicanpresidential administrations of the 1980s and early 90s, including that of U.S. secretary of state (198992). "No world leader has a bigger place in the history of the late 20th century than Mikhail Gorbachev, for the pivotal role he played in the peaceful end of the Cold War," wrote former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, in an op-ed. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. However, Baker changed his mind about running for Congress when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer; she died in February 1970. [28], However, Baker has been criticized for spending much of his tenure in a state of inaction regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which arguably led to further infringements on Palestinian rights and the growing radicalism of Arabs and Israelis. Ron Sachs/CNP for NY Post After leaving the FBI, Twitter seemed eager to hire Baker. The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III was published Tuesday after a seven-year journey, during which the authors New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker (no relation to James Baker) and New Yorker senior columnist Susan Glasser conducted more than 200 interviews. He served as a United Nations envoy to Western Sahara and as a consultant to Enron. James A. Baker III Monument 400 Texas St. Houston, TX 77002 Find Parking The City of Houston named a small portion of Sesquicentennial Park Baker Common that includes a statue of James A. Baker III, as well as plaques commemorating the families contributions to the city. His father was a partner of Houston law firm Baker Botts. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Baker was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008.[43]. Seventeen-year-old Mary Stuart. The following year, he was selected as Gulf Coast Regional Chairman for the Richard Nixon presidential campaign. Former Chief of Staff under President Reagan, James Baker, III (b.1930) was appointed as the sixty-seventh Secretary of the Treasury on February 3, 1985, exchanging jobs with Secretary Donald Regan. The book also shows how much the Republican Partys approach to Israel has changed over recent decades. "Thank you for being such a great leader for this country and for this department.". Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East, McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth, Baker Briefing: A Diplomats Perspective on Russia, Addressing Climate Change in the Developing World: A Conversation with Rajiv Shah, Charting Paths Forward on Immigration Reform, The Strategic case for U.S. Anybody with a spa or residential pool needs to make sure they have them checked out to prevent these types of accidents from happening.". Diplomacy Center Commemorates Sec. It concluded with his service as White House chief of staff and senior counselor to President Bush from August 1992 to January 1993. Stop settlement activity. The group also included Martin S. Feldstein and N. Gregory Mankiw. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008. He resigned his post as secretary of state in 1992 in order to serve as White House chief of staff while simultaneously directing Bushs unsuccessful reelection campaign. 15 of 23 16 of 23 James Baker III speaks to King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Thursday afternoon during an appearance at Rice University. Baker met his first wife, the former Mary Stuart McHenry, of Dayton, Ohio, while on spring break in Bermuda with the Princeton University rugby team. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Baker, U.S. Department of State - Office of the Historian - Biography of James Addison III Baker, Miller Center - Biography of James A. Baker, James Addison Baker - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Iraq Study Group before U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. Originally, Baker had been a Democrat but too busy trying to succeed in a competitive law firm to worry about politics, and considered himself apolitical. He later gave informal advice to Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and suggested the appointment of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. Safety experts said yesterday that whirlpool drains have caused nearly two dozen deaths in the United States over the past 20 years. The book also includes a detailed account of Bakers famous testimony before Congress on peace negotiations between Israel and the Arab world, during which he said the United States cant want an agreement more than the two sides themselves. Bush and Baker had a strained relationship with Israeli leaders from the start, the book explains. James A. Baker, III, has served in senior government positions under three United States presidents. Indeed, Baker's family was so well off that his doting. He has been married to Susan Garrett Winston since 1973. with honors in 1957 and practiced law with the Houston firm of Andrews and Kurth from 1957 to 1975. Plan a gift that will ensure lasting, meaningful support for policy programs important to you. Bush appointed Baker Secretary of State in 1989. Koch wrote that during a recent White House meeting Baker had responded to criticism of his tough approach to Israel by saying, Fuck em. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 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 package in 1981. James Baker III looking through the Iraq Study Group report before delivering it to the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, December 7, 2006. In 1995, Baker published his memoirs of service as Secretary of State in a book entitled The Politics of Diplomacy: Revolution, War and Peace, 19891992 (ISBN 0-399-14087-5). James Baker, in full James Addison Baker III, (born April 28, 1930, Houston, Texas, U.S.), American government official, political manager, and lawyer who occupied important posts in the Republican presidential administrations of the 1980s and early '90s, including that of U.S. secretary of state (1989-92). He also played a role in the development of the American Silver Eagle and American Gold Eagle coins, which both were released in 1986. In 1973 and 1974, Baker returned to full time practice of law at Andrews & Kurth. Bakers reflections on those years of revolution, war and peace The Politics of Diplomacy was published in 1995. Bakers memoir Work Hard, Study . James A. Baker, III, has served in senior government positions under three United States presidents. Baker was the Republican co-chair along with Democratic Representative Lee H. Hamilton, to advise Congress on Iraq. He also served as Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury for Reagan and as Secretary of State for Bush. Biography of the GOP elder statesman chronicles his battles with Israel, including the time he barred Netanyahu from entering the State Department. In this November 21, 1990 file photo, Secretary of State James Baker is seen whispering to National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft during a press conference by President George H. W. Bush. Durham's indictment alleges that Sussmann told then-FBI General Counsel James Baker in September 2016 that he was not doing work "for any client" when he requested and held a meeting in which he . "It was cleaned and inspected the day before the party.". The Iraq Study Group 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. At one level it narrowly focuses both on verbal commitments made by the US secretary of state James Baker under President George HW Bush and the terms of a treaty signed on 12 September 1990 . After graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, he pursued a legal career. President George H.W. His wife's influence led Baker to politics and the Republican Party. The email newsletter of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy provides a snapshot of institute news, research and upcoming events. Many of Baker's concerns proved correct, and the project became a key factor in the company's downfall. He earned a Bachelor of Laws (1957) from the University of Texas School of Law and began to practice law in Texas. But the former secretary of state was portrayed for many years as anti-Israeli, in large part because of the infamous Fuck the Jews quote. He left The Post in December 2020. In the mid-2000s Baker was active on a number of government investigative committees; he served as cochair of both the Federal Commission on Election Reform (with former president Jimmy Carter) and the Iraq Study Group (with former U.S. congressman Lee Hamilton). Baker III worked as White House chief of staff and secretary of the treasury under President Ronald Reagan, and as secretary of state and White House chief of staff under President George H.W. Baker served in this role through 1992. Bush. Baker also called on Shamir to forswear annexation. Reagan rebuked Phillips and Wright for having waged a "campaign of sabotage" against Baker.[16]. But their policy regarding Israel would have been completely rejected by todays Republican Party, which has moved to the right on issues like settlements, Palestinian statehood and Israeli control of East Jerusalem. Its ironic that James Bakers criticism of settlements, and his confrontations with Shamir and Netanyahu, led to accusations of hostility toward Jews, when in reality its evangelicals who have moved the Republican Party away from his positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the C-SPAN Networks: James A. Baker III has 241 videos in the C-SPAN Video Library; the first appearance was a 1976 Statement as a Manager for the Ford Presidential Campaign . Bibi Banks on Trump, but History Is Not on His Side, For Better or Worse, George H.W. All three have been reported as leaning toward the policies of the Israeli Labor Party. James Baker III was born on April 28, 1930 in Houston, Texas, USA. "But the drains have great power, and there are cases where adults have been held down and drowned because of them. Together they had four sons, including James Addison Baker IV, a partner at Baker Botts. He called for Israel to "lay aside once and for all, the unrealistic vision of a greater Israel", cease the construction of Israeli settlements in West Bank and Gaza, forswear annexation of more territory, and to treat Palestinians "as neighbors who deserve political rights". James Baker was the latest in a long line of James Bakers. Baker was born in Houston, Texas, in 1930. Baker also served on Reagan's National Security Council, and remained Treasury Secretary until 1988, during which time he also served as campaign chairman for George H. W. Bush's successful presidential bid. Well, AIPAC wont like that, someone said. Baker and his boss, the 41st president, were two of the most influential figures in GOP politics from the 1970s onward. Mary Stuart Baker (Mary Stuart was her full first name) died of breast cancer in February 1970. . A drowning can happen in nearly a blink of the eye.". In March 1997, Baker became the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara. Secretary Bakers position used to be fairly standard among Republicans, but the party, led especially by President Trump, has moved away from him to the point where loyalty to Israel is seen as a litmus test.. A lawyer by training, he practiced law in Houston with the firm of Andrews & Kurth for more than twenty years. "Bob Dole was a true American patriot who represented the very best of our country. By now, its probably the most famous quote attributed to the 90-year-old elder statesman.