[18] Privately, Bush ignored Baker's assurances and later pushed for NATO's eastwards expansion. They claimed that Baker, a former Democrat and a Bush political intimate, was undermining conservative initiatives in the administration. He also served as Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury for Reagan and as Secretary of State for Bush. Bush then encouraged Baker to become active in politics to help deal with the grief, something Bush had done when his daughter, Pauline Robinson (19491953), died of leukemia. James A. Baker III '52: A Tribute to George Shultz '42 first appeared in the December 2021 issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly. Bush, as well as Reagan's treasury secretary and Bush's secretary of state, told his biographers Susan Glasser and Peter Baker (no relation) during a virtual event Friday that he supports . Baker III and the late Bush enjoyed a close 60-year friendship forged on the tennis courts. 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. Geni requires JavaScript! 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. [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. 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. in history from Princeton University in 1952 after completing a 188-page senior thesis, titled "Two Sides of the Conflict: Bevin vs. Bevan", under the supervision of Walter P. All serious issues that Palestine sought to discuss, such as elections and representation in the Israeli government, were delegated to Egypt for decisions to be made. But did Baker ever actually say it? Studying timely issues in global economic policy as well as developmental policy in foreign countries. Bush Changed the Face of the Middle East. [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. He served until May 1976, ran Ford's 1976 presidential campaign, and unsuccessfully sought election as the Attorney General of Texas. Staff writer Maria Glod contributed to this report. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991. President George H.W. Mary had breast cancer in 1968 and died in February 1970 when . 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 Republican Party in 1971. Learn more about the Baker Institute's leadership and get contact information for the administrative staff. 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. "Bob Dole was a true American patriot who represented the very best of our country. Everybody over there should know that the [White House] telephone number is 1-202-456-1414, he said. [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. Andrew Baker, a chaplain during the Rev. He remained in the Marine Corps Reserve until 1958, and rose to the rank of captain. In 1970 Bakers longtime friend George H.W. James Baker, Ronald Reagan's Chief of Staff: 5 Fast Facts - Heavy.com 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. During the disputed presidential election of 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Baker played a leading role for the Bush campaign combating legal challenges filed by Gores campaign. A drowning can happen in nearly a blink of the eye.". Bushs secretary of state, is mentioned more than 150 times in the book. Baker adroitly managed George H.W. Baker was the Republican co-chairman along with Democratic Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, to advise Congress on Iraq. James Addison Baker, III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, politician and political advisor. Reagan's -- velvet hammer - CSMonitor.com His team included Dennis Ross and many others who were soon appointed to the new Bush Administration. Indeed, Baker's family was so well off that his doting. James Baker - Wikipedia [citation needed], His son, James A. Baker III, is the political figure especially known from the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations. James Baker Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 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. His father was a partner of Houston law firm Baker Botts. 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. "Profiles: The Tactician". From 9 A.M. to 11:45 A.M. alone, the White House comment line received more than 400 calls about Baker, two-thirds of them positive, the rest negative.. The book also shows how much the Republican Partys approach to Israel has changed over recent decades. Reagan rebuked Phillips and Wright for having waged a "campaign of sabotage" against Baker. He also played a prominent role in the Florida recount for the current president. [22] 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. His wife's influence led Baker to politics and the Republican Party. 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. Focusing on U.S. space policy and the future of space travel. James Addison Baker, III, was born April 28, 1930, into a wealthy Houston, Texas, family. They have six sons and two daughters, and 18 . On June 15, 2002, Virginia Graeme Baker, the seven-year-old granddaughter of Baker, daughter of Nancy and James Baker IV, was the victim of lethal suction entrapment in an in-ground spa. James A. Baker. After the Gulf War, Baker served another stint as White House Chief of Staff from 1992 to 1993. Analyzing the influence of the transnational circulation of people, technologies, commodities and ideas in China. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Texas Hometown: Baker was born in Houston on April 28, 1930. . Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved, the fight in Congress over the loan guarantees. 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. 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. [13] He served in that capacity until 1985. However, Baker changed his mind about running for Congress when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer; she died in February 1970. History and family tradition tell of Robert III rescuing William Blount from the British who held him captive during . [19], When Ukraine became independent, Baker sought to ensure that Ukraine would give up its nuclear weapons. Originally Baker had been a Democrat, although he had been too busy trying to succeed in a competitive law firm to worry about politics and he considered himself apolitical. . Ibid. Baker, no relation, is the co-author of "The Man Who Ran Washington: the Life and Times of James Baker III." He wrote the book with his wife, "New Yorker" correspondent Susan Glasser.. PDF James A. Baker, III The Ultimate Negotiator and Counselor - Winstead PC All three have been reported as leaning toward the policies of the Israeli Labor Party. Complete a form for event, media or other inquiries, and get directions and parking information for the Baker Institute. He previously was The Post's education editor, and he worked as an investigative reporter, a military correspondent and covered crime and courts in Northern Virginia. He has been married to Susan Garrett Winston since 1973. "But the drains have great power, and there are cases where adults have been held down and drowned because of them. 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. by Peter Dreier. 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 met his first wife, the former Mary Stuart McHenry, of Dayton, Ohio, while on spring break in Bermuda with the Princeton University rugby team. "It was cleaned and inspected the day before the party.". Reached at their McLean home yesterday, the Baker family declined to comment. Durham to call former FBI general counsel James Baker to testify in Two weeks later still more settlements were announced, the authors write. [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). 's Baker Hints Iraq Plan Needs Change". In order to understand what's going on in Ukraine from Vladimir Putin's point of view, you have to go back to 1990 when the Soviet Union was collapsing. James A. Baker, III | Baker Institute Baker attended The Kinkaid School in Houston, before graduating from The Hill School, a boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. 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 is the namesake of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.[2]. James Addison Baker, III, was born April 28, 1930, into a wealthy Houston, Texas, family. Before the 1988 election, he and a team of some Middle Eastern policies experts created a report detailing the Palestine-Israel interactions. 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. On March 15, 2006, Congress announced the formation 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. His memoir, Work Hard, Studyand Keep Out of Politics!, was published in 2006. James A. Baker III Papers, 1957-2011 (mostly 1972-1992) - Finding Aids Sanger, David E. Its a quote that has haunted former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker for almost three decades. 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). DALLAS (CN) - A politically connected D.C.-based private equity firm, founded by former Secretary of State James Baker's son, defrauded a company of $5 million by pitching it a $300 million defense sector investment fund whose only "assets" are loan the defendants "squandered," Dallas-based Tice . [48][49], Baker also serves as an honorary director on the board of directors at the Atlantic Council.[50]. Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life Hardcover - October 5, 2006 by James Baker III (Author) 87 ratings Kindle $14.99 Read with Our Free App Hardcover $24.42 65 Used from $1.45 8 New from $19.90 2 Collectible from $29.96 Paperback Baker became chairman of Bush's Senate campaign in Harris County. The Politics of Diplomacy - Google Books Plan a gift that will ensure lasting, meaningful support for policy programs important to you. 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. Bush believed Shamir had lied to him and never forgave him., A month after that incident, Baker gave a speech at the annual AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, his first-ever appearance before the large pro-Israel gathering. Screw them, they dont vote for us, Baker recalled replying. (1957) from The University of Texas at Austin and began to practice law in Texas. James Addison Baker III | Encyclopedia.com The event, sponsored by the James Baker . George Herbert Walker Bush then encouraged Baker to become active in politics to help deal with the grief of his wife's death, something that George Herbert Walker Bush himself had done when his daughter, Pauline Robinson Bush (19491953), died of leukemia. D URING THE confusion that followed the attempt on . The email newsletter of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy provides a snapshot of institute news, research and upcoming events. [42] Bush would appoint another G. H. W. Bush Administration veteran, Robert Gates, instead, after the 2006 midterm elections. He served as the nation's 61st secretary of state from January 1989 through August 1992 under President George H.W. For 12 years, from 1980 to 1992, James A. Baker III operated as one of the most powerful non-elected officials in Washington, serving first as President Ronald Reagan's chief of staff and later . James Baker III - IMDb He was a regular tennis partner with Bush at the Houston Country Club in the late 1950s. In this candid, revealing account, Baker uses his unique perspective to take us inside those events and the personalities involved in them: the collapse of Communism, the Berlin Wall, and the. Where Are They Now? James A. Baker III - Texas on the Potomac Baker helped to construct the 34-nation alliance that fought alongside the United States in the Gulf War. James Baker was the latest in a long line of James Bakers. In the Trump-led Republican Party of 2020, that position is shared by very few. Baker served in this role through 1992. The son of a prosperous Houston attorney, Baker graduated from On James Baker's . Eventually, he softened it a bit, allowing Netanyahu to enter the building but barring him from visiting the top floors where high-ranking officials had their offices, limiting his access to low-level staffers only. The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III 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.