In March 1997, Baker became the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara. In December 2003, President George W. Bush appointed Baker as his special envoy to ask various foreign creditor nations to forgive or restructure the approximately $100 billion in international debts owed by the Iraq government which had been incurred during the tenure of Saddam Hussein. Baker also called on Shamir to forswear annexation. He married Mary McHenry in 1953 and they had four sons, James IV, Mike, John and Doug. His son James A. Baker Jr. was called Captain Baker for his time in the Houston Light Guards, a uniformed company of the state's National Guard formed by Confederate veterans after. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project. My wife Lori and I flew to California to attend the memorial service for Secretary George Shultz '42 at Stanford University on October 7. He serves on the World Justice Project and the Climate Leadership Council. Baker was a member of the United States Marine Corps from 1952 to 1954, attaining the rank of first lieutenant as a naval gunfire officer serving in the Mediterranean Sea aboard the USSMonrovia. All of these confrontations with Israel and others that are mentioned in the book, such as the fight in Congress over the loan guarantees eventually took their toll on Bakers reputation. He has been married to Susan Garrett Winston since 1973. His son, James A. Baker, Jr., served in World War II, became a lawyer in the family firm and continued the Baker commitment to Rice. Baker blocked the creation of Palestine by threatening to cut funding to agencies in the United Nations: As far back as 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) issued a "declaration of statehood and changed the name of its observer delegation to the United Nations from the PLO to Palestine. James A. Baker, III, has served in senior government positions under three United States presidents. Clearly, constant adult supervision is the only solution to the dangers of having children around water, whether it's open water, pools or hot tubs. He later gave informal advice to Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and suggested the appointment of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. During the making of the film Baker was interviewed. 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. . He served in that capacity until 1985. 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. [54] Mary Stuart Baker (Mary Stuart was her full first name) died of breast cancer in February 1970. Baker was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008.[43]. James Addison Baker III[note 1] (born April 28, 1930)[1] is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. He left The Post in December 2020. His positions on Israel would be considered anti-Israeli, perhaps even heretic, in todays GOP and the former secretary of state knows it. [52], Baker began service on the Rice University board of trustees in 1993.[53]. Bush and Baker saw the comment as a commitment from Shamir not to expand settlements, whereas the Israeli premier meant the exact opposite: that he would continue to build in the occupied territories, because such building shouldnt pose a problem in his view. They have six sons and two daughters, and 18 . "Most deaths from hot tubs and spas are drowning deaths that aren't related to entanglements or getting trapped," said Mark Ross, a spokesman for the consumer agency, adding that voluntary safety controls have cut down the number of dangerous drains. Former President George H.W. Baker's record of public service began in 1975 as under secretary of commerce to President Gerald Ford. Baker is Senior Counselor for the Carlyle Group, and the bin Ladens are among its major investors. 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). Israeli officials and public were highly offended due to the tone of his speech, though his address called for little more than his predecessors. Hall. To promote greater safety in pools and spas, Nancy Baker gave testimony to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and James Baker helped form an advocacy group, which led to the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool And Spa Safety Act (15 USC 8001). Baker has a sister, Bonner Baker Moffitt. According to the new biography, its far from certain those words were actually ever used by Baker. Advancing data-based policies that promote health and well-being in the U.S. and around the world. James Addison Baker, III born on: 28 April 1930 at 07:31 (= 07:31 AM ) Place: Houston, Texas, 29n46, 95w22 : Timezone: CST h6w (is standard time) Data source: BC/BR in hand: Rodden Rating AA: . In August 1975, he was appointed Under Secretary of Commerce by President Gerald Ford, succeeding John K. Bush Changed the Face of the Middle East. 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 settled in Huntsville, where he practiced law,. [41], 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 presidential election. Baker was the Republican co-chairman along with Democratic Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, to advise Congress on Iraq. Josh White was The Washington Post's America desk editor. He graduated cum laude with an A.B. Focusing on U.S. space policy and the future of space travel. The son of a prosperous Houston attorney, Baker graduated from Princeton University in 1952 and then spent two years in the U.S. Marine Corps. His father was a partner of Houston law firm Baker Botts. Baker also led presidential campaigns for Presidents Gerald Ford, Reagan and Bush over the course of five consecutive presidential elections . The 7-year-old granddaughter of former secretary of state James A. Baker III died when she became trapped in a whirlpool and drowned in McLean, Fairfax County police said yesterday. After the Gulf War, Baker served another stint as White House Chief of Staff from 1992 to 1993. James A. Baker, III entered the world in 1930 as the son, grandson, and great-grandson of distinguished lawyers all named James A. Baker,2 who each made a good living working at the Baker Botts law firm (formed by Baker's great-grandfather) in Houston. In 1981, Baker was named White House Chief of Staff by President Ronald Reagan, in spite of the fact that Baker managed the presidential campaigns of Gerald Ford in 1976 and of George Bush in 1980 opposing Reagan. His wife's influence led Baker to politics and the Republican Party. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. James Baker was the latest in a long line of James Bakers. Though Bush lost the race, Baker became deeply involved in Republican Party politics thereafter. D URING THE confusion that followed the attempt on . In 2003, Baker was appointed special presidential envoy for President George W. Bush on the issue of Iraqi debt. 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. He was named under secretary of commerce by Pres. 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. The tall Texan with the impassive stare ranks as the only person to have served as White House chief of staff,. But the report about his comments had such resonance because his policies were perceived to be skeptical of Israel.. (1957) from The University of Texas at Austin and began to practice law in Texas. Diplomacy Center Commemorates Sec. His father was a partner of Houston law firm Baker Botts. One thing that becomes clear while reading Baker and Glassers book is how much the Republican Partys stances on Israel and the Middle East have changed since the days of James Baker. 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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. His wife's influence led Baker to politics and the Republican Party. James A. Baker III interview for Frontline. 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 (198992). Bushs secretary of state, is mentioned more than 150 times in the book. [26], Baker was notable for making little and slow efforts towards improving the state of Israeli-Palestinian relations. Around 1983 Baker became heavily dispirited and tired due to the weight of his job; he attempted to become National Security Advisor, a change to which Reagan initially agreed, but some of Reagan's other advisers dissuaded him from naming Baker to the position. Baker is considered to have had a high degree of influence over the first Reagan administration, particularly in domestic policy. [46] During a 2016 memorial service for Nancy Reagan, he commented to former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney that he believed there were parallels between the rise of Trump and the rise of Reagan. In 1975, he was appointed Under Secretary of Commerce for Gerald Ford. After leaving government service, Baker became a partner in a law firm and served as a diplomatic envoy for United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan for the Western Sahara. All three have been reported as leaning toward the policies of the Israeli Labor Party. by Peter Dreier. Neither Koch nor Safire named a source, but the former mayor later acknowledged in a book that Kemp was the one who tipped him off., Peter Baker and Susan Glasser interviewed both Kemp and James Baker about the episode. Secretary Baker would tell you that hes a strong supporter of Israel and that he thinks America should remain its indispensable ally, Peter Baker told Haaretz on Monday. Providing actionable policy analysis and recommendations that aim to expand the economy through private enterprise. Work Hard, Study.and Keep Out of Politics! Bakers memoir Work Hard, Study . Biography of the GOP elder statesman chronicles his battles with Israel, including the time he barred Netanyahu from entering the State Department. She passed away of breast cancer in February. He became a close friend of George H. W. Bush and worked for Bush's unsuccessful 1970 campaign for the United States Senate. 1990, statement of James A. Baker III. In some cases, children who are trying to hold their breath underwater get pulled in and can't get out. In the Trump-led Republican Party of 2020, that position is shared by very few. United States Secretaries of the Treasury, List of international trips made by secretaries of state of the United States, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Baker&oldid=1141376173, Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, George H. W. Bush administration cabinet members, United States Under Secretaries of Commerce, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Wikipedia neutral point of view disputes from November 2019, All Wikipedia neutral point of view disputes, Pages using Sister project links with wikidata namespace mismatch, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 19:21. James A. Baker III., Capt. Afterwards, he earned a J.D. Baker attended The Kinkaid School in Houston, before graduating from The Hill School, a boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. In this August 11, 1990 file photo, President George H. W. Bush is pictured with his advisers on the Middle East crisis, including Secretary of State James Baker III, right. Secretary of State James Baker warned publicly, I will recommend to the President that the United States make no further contributions, voluntary or assessed, to any international organization which makes any changes in the PLO's status as an observer organization.". He resigned as Treasury Secretary to manage Bush's successful 1988 campaign for president. President George H.W. He has been married to Susan Garrett Winston since 1973. 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. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir came to visit the White House in April 1989, shortly after the new administration took office and whatever was said ended up driving an enduring wedge between the two sides. During that meeting, Shamir told Bush that settlements in the occupied West Bank shouldnt be a problem for the administrations plans to start peace talks between Israel and its neighbors. In addition to the university, Hermann Park, the land for the future Museum of Fine Arts were in proximity. He earned a Bachelor of Laws (1957) from the University of Texas School of Law and began to practice law in Texas. The White House and State Department quickly denied that Baker had said it, but William Safire, the New York Times columnist, followed with a piece saying that Baker had actually said something like it on two different occasions. James Addison Baker Jr. (November 3, 1892 - May 21, 1973) was an American attorney, [1] banker, real estate developer, and United States Army officer from Houston, Texas. Baker's first wife, the former Mary Stuart McHenry, was active in the Republican Party, working on the Congressional campaigns of George H. W. Bush. Gerald Ford in 1975, and that same year he helped Ford secure the Republican Partys presidential nomination for the 1976 election. Baker became chairman of Bush's Senate campaign in Harris County. On October 9, 2006, the Washington Post quoted co-chairman Baker 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'". Before the 1988 election, he and a team of some Middle Eastern policies experts created a report detailing the Palestine-Israel interactions. 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. He served as the nation's 61st secretary of state from January 1989 through August 1992 under President George H.W. "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. James Addison Baker III was born in Houston at 1216 Bissonnet St.,[3] the son of James A. Baker Jr. (18921973) and Ethel Bonner (ne Means) Baker (August 6, 1894 April 26, 1991). He earned a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1957 and then joined a major Houston law firm, eventually becoming a partner in it. Addressing a broad range of policy issues that affect scientists and their research. Well, AIPAC wont like that, someone said. James Baker Oral History at Houston Oral History Project, November 20, 2007. Amy Lubas, a police spokeswoman, said the whirlpool had been checked recently. Kemp, for his part, told them that Bakers sentiment got mischaracterized by Koch and others as being anti-Israel. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir conferring following meetings at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, September 17, 1991. Credit: AP Amir Tibon Follow Sep 29, 2020 It's a quote that has haunted former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker for almost three decades. His father was a partner of Houston law firm Baker Botts. [22] [42] Bush would appoint another G. H. W. Bush Administration veteran, Robert Gates, instead, after the 2006 midterm elections. 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.. James Baker III was born on April 28, 1930 in Houston, Texas, USA. Baker has a sister, Bonner Baker Moffitt. Reagan rebuked Phillips and Wright for having waged a "campaign of sabotage" against Baker. Omissions? The elder Baker was treasury secretary and chief of staff under President Ronald Reagan and secretary of state under former President George Bush. He was previously married to Mary Stuart McHenry. In addition to the numerous recognitions received by Baker, he was presented with the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Award for public service on September 13, 2000, in Washington, D.C. Baker served as Fords campaign manager that year and went on to direct Bushs campaign for the presidential nomination in the Republican primaries of 1980. Baker married his first wife Mary Stuart McHenry in 1953. [26] In the meantime, Baker also tried to negotiate with the Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, in order to achieve a lasting peace between Israel and Syria. He served until May 1976, ran Ford's 1976 presidential campaign, and unsuccessfully sought election as the Attorney General of Texas. In 1991 Baker was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Israel, a country Baker visited countless times during his four years as President George H.W. James Addison Baker was born in Houston, Texas at 1216 Bissonnet, to James A. Baker, Jr. (18921973) and Ethel Bonner (born Means) Baker (August 6, 1894 April 26, 1991). [27], During his first eight months under the Bush administration, there were five meetings with the PLO, which is far less than his predecessors. Long active in American presidential politics, Baker led presidential campaigns for Presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush over the course of five consecutive presidential elections from 1976 to 1992. [26], Baker became the first American statesman to negotiate directly and officially with Palestinians in the Madrid Conference of 1991, which was the first comprehensive peace conference that involved every party involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict and the conference was designed to address all outstanding issues. 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. He is the honorary chairman of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and serves on the board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Anybody with a spa or residential pool needs to make sure they have them checked out to prevent these types of accidents from happening.". Phone: 713-348-4683 After Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the United States of "building its policy on a foundation of distortion and lies," Baker banned Netanyahu from entering the State Department building, and refused to meet with him personally for the remainder of his tenure as secretary. However, Baker changed his mind about running when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Facebook gives people the power. Shultz. His wife, Susan, listens at right. Amidst the growing support of Saddam Hussein in Palestine, due to his opposition toward Israel, and his invasion of Kuwait, and the beginning of the Gulf War, Baker decided that he would make some moves towards developing communications between Israel and Palestine.
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