His positions on Israel would be considered anti-Israeli, perhaps even heretic, in todays GOP and the former secretary of state knows it. The authors explain that as the quote spread, it would be repeated by others without the brackets, shortened to Fuck the Jews, an even cruder version than Koch originally alleged., The real story behind the inflammatory comment, the authors write, stemmed from Bakers long-running feud with [Housing Secretary] Jack Kemp, who had told Koch about the episode. [19] Bush and US defence secretary Dick Cheney were proponents for Soviet dissolution. James Addison Baker III, 61st Secretary of State Rise to Prominence Born in Texas on April 28, 1930, Baker attended prep school in Pennsylvania, and went on to graduate from Princeton University in 1952. It concluded with his service as White House chief of staff and senior counselor to President Bush from August 1992 to January 1993. December 12, 2006. 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. 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. Baker III and the late Bush enjoyed a close 60-year friendship forged on the tennis courts. Read more at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. 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. James Addison Baker III was born in Houston at 1216 Bissonnet St., the son of James A. Baker Jr. (1892-1973) and Ethel Bonner (ne Means) Baker (August 6, 1894 - April 26, 1991). Together they had four sons, including James Addison Baker IV, a partner at Baker Botts. His father was a partner of Houston law firm Baker Botts. Though Bush lost the race, Baker became deeply involved in Republican Party politics thereafter. Shultz. 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.". Bakers memoir Work Hard, Study . In this telling, the target of his ire was an interest group, not Jews as a whole. President George H.W. They married in 1953. James A. Baker. [26], Baker was notable for making little and slow efforts towards improving the state of Israeli-Palestinian relations. Omissions? 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. After the Gulf War, Baker served another stint as White House Chief of Staff from 1992 to 1993. [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. All three have been reported as leaning toward the policies of the Israeli Labor Party. While serving as Treasury Secretary, Baker organized the Plaza Accord of September 1985 and the Baker Plan to target international debt. "Bob Dole was a true American patriot who represented the very best of our country. Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. Stop settlement activity. Ron Sachs/CNP for NY Post After leaving the FBI, Twitter seemed eager to hire Baker. James A. Baker III., Capt. Contact him at bipp@rice.edu or (281) 348-4683. Secretary Baker made clear to us that he thinks President Trump has leaned too heavily in one direction when it comes to Middle East peace, Peter Baker told Haaretz. Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III (left) meet with reporters on the White House lawn on May 17, 1991, in Washington. No replacement has yet been named. As a result, we missed the multiple Nobel Prize . James Addison Baker III[note 1] (born April 28, 1930)[1] is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. Ibid. Baker was portrayed in the film by British actor Tom Wilkinson. 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. Reagan rebuked Phillips and Wright for having waged a "campaign of sabotage" against Baker.[16]. 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 . [18] He later revealed that he had agreed to do so because James Baker promised that NATO troops would not be posted to eastern Germany and that the military alliance would not expand into Eastern Europe. Former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III responded to my question about NATO's eastward expansion. He served as the nation's 61st secretary of state from January 1989 through August 1992 under President George H.W. In 1970 Bakers longtime friend George H.W. Pursuing research and open debate to develop pragmatic drug policies based on common sense and driven by human rights interests. His father was a partner of Houston law firm Baker Botts. Former Secretary of State James Baker III gives a eulogy during the funeral for former President George H.W. James Baker III looking through the Iraq Study Group report before delivering it to the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, December 7, 2006. He was a fifth generation. The son of a prosperous Houston attorney, Baker graduated from On James Baker's . 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. The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III. Former secretary of state James Baker considered voting for Joe Biden in November but will instead keep backing Donald Trump, a new biography reveals, in the process outlining a key reason for. Bush appointed Baker Secretary of State in 1989. The following year, he was selected as Gulf Coast Regional Chairman for the Richard Nixon presidential campaign. In 2003, Baker was appointed special presidential envoy for President George W. Bush on the issue of Iraqi debt. In March 1997, Baker became the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara. Houston, TX 77005, Email: bipp@rice.edu More below about Doug Baker's appointment by Bush in Nov 2001. [6], From 1957 to 1975, he practiced law at Andrews & Kurth after the anti-nepotism policy of his family firm, Baker Botts, prevented him from receiving a job there.[7][8]. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.[17]. When youre serious about peace, call us., A day later, the authors note, Baker sent flowers to the White House operators to apologize for subjecting them to a flood of calls by giving out their phone number instead of his own. 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. Corrections? Doubleday; 720 pages; $35. On September 11, 2001, Baker watched television coverage of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington DC, where Baker and representatives of Osama bin Laden's family were among those attending the annual conference for the Carlyle Group. [37] 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.[38]. 's Baker Hints Iraq Plan Needs Change". 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'". Mary had breast cancer in 1968 and died in February 1970 when . She was stuck underwater and was unable to free herself, police said. Baker received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 and has been the recipient of many other awards for distinguished public service, including Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson Award, the American Institute for Public Service's Jefferson Award, Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government Award, The Hans J. Morgenthau Award, The George F. Kennan Award, the Department of the Treasury's Alexander Hamilton Award, the Department of State's Distinguished Service Award and numerous honorary academic degrees. 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. They have six sons and two daughters, and 18 . 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. Who is James Baker? Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush. Rising from a comfortable beginning, James A. Baker, III took his 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 Baker III, who served as chief of staff to former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. The following year, he was selected as Gulf Coast Regional Chairman for the Richard Nixon presidential campaign. 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. She passed away of breast cancer in February. [44] 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. Baker helped to construct the 34-nation alliance that fought alongside the United States in the Gulf War. 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. Reached at their McLean home yesterday, the Baker family declined to comment. Well, AIPAC wont like that, someone said. She died of breast cancer in February 1970. His grandfather was attorney and banker Captain James A. Baker, and his great-grandfather was jurist and . James Baker III was born on April 28, 1930 in Houston, Texas, USA. Baker is considered to have had a high degree of influence over the first Reagan administration, particularly in domestic policy. He was a regular tennis partner of George H. W. Bush at the Houston Country Club in the late 1950s. Baker was furious, and his immediate reaction was to tell close aides hed be kicking the Israeli ambassador out of Washington. 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. [11] He served until May 1976, and was succeeded by Edward O. [47], Baker serves on the Honorary Council of Advisers for the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce. 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. Kemp, for his part, told them that Bakers sentiment got mischaracterized by Koch and others as being anti-Israel. A new biography of the former diplomat, written by two of the most accomplished reporters in present-day Washington, corrects the record about the infamous quote which was attributed to Baker at the height of his confrontations with Likud Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, in 1991. Screw them, they dont vote for us, Baker recalled replying. Baker Hall MS-40, Suite 120 One morning in March [of 1991], Baker woke up to see a screaming headline on the cover of the New York Post: BAKERS 4-LETTER INSULT: Secretary of State Rips Jews in Meeting at White House., The sensational headline led readers to a column by Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York who had become a tabloid columnist. James Addison Baker, III, was born April 28, 1930, into a wealthy Houston, Texas, family. Bush. Bakers reflections on those years of revolution, war and peace The Politics of Diplomacy was published in 1995. James Baker's son, Robert III, was the ancestor of the Hancock Co. Bakers. James Baker III's Grandchild Dies in Whirlpool By Josh White June 19, 2002 The 7-year-old granddaughter of former secretary of state James A. Baker III died when she became trapped in a. Reagan rejected the Phillips-Wright request. Tabor. The group also included Martin S. Feldstein and N. Gregory Mankiw. They married in 1953. [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. 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. After calming down a bit, he settled for declaring Netanyahu persona non grata, barring him from even entering the doors of the State Department. Despite pleas from his Middle East adviser, Dennis Ross, Baker refused to change the decision. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The couple met while on in Bermuda for spring break. Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life by III, James Baker and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com. Reagan rejected the Phillips-Wright request, but in 1985, he named Baker as United States Secretary of the Treasury, in a job-swap with then Secretary Donald T. Regan, a former Merrill Lynch officer who became Chief of Staff. Complete a form for event, media or other inquiries, and get directions and parking information for the Baker Institute. In 1973 and 1974, in the wake of the Nixon Administration's implosion over Watergate, Baker returned to full-time law practice at Andrews & Kurth.[9][10]. 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. He was previously married to Mary Stuart McHenry. Bibi Banks on Trump, but History Is Not on His Side, For Better or Worse, George H.W. [23], Baker also spent considerable time negotiating one-on-one with the parties in order to organize the Madrid Conference of October 30-November 1, 1991, in an attempt to revive the IsraeliPalestinian peace process through negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinians, as well as Arab countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.[24]. In 1982, conservative activists Howard Phillips, founder of The Conservative Caucus and Clymer Wright of Houston joined in an unsuccessful effort to convince Reagan to dismiss Baker as Chief of Staff. Bushs secretary of state, is mentioned more than 150 times in the book. [27] Baker proved willing to confront Israeli officials on statements they made contrary to American interests. President George H. W. Bush appointed Baker Secretary of State in 1989. Bakers Historic Contributions, Statement: Secretary Baker on the Death of Bob Dole. The conference is covered extensively in the book, ending with a quote by James Baker telling his close aides he would like to move even further on the peace process after helping Bush win reelection. Bush later confirmed that he made such an offer to Baker but that he declined. Everybody over there should know that the [White House] telephone number is 1-202-456-1414, he said. From 1957 to 1969, and then from 1973 to 1975 he practiced law at the law firm of Andrews & Kurth. [25] 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. The specially commissioned bust honors "the most important unelected official in America since World War II," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the unveiling ceremony. Updates? "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. He serves on the World Justice Project and the Climate Leadership Council. Baker was the Republican co-chairman along with Democratic Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, to advise Congress on Iraq. In May 1990, Soviet Union's reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev visited the U.S. for talks with President Bush; there, he agreed to allow a reunified Germany to be a part of NATO. D URING THE confusion that followed the attempt on . Baker has formal involvement with the country of Azerbaijan as he serves on the Honorary Council of Advisers for the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce. 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. Biography of the GOP elder statesman chronicles his battles with Israel, including the time he barred Netanyahu from entering the State Department. Baker served as Undersecretary of Commerce under President Gerald Ford in 1975, and ran Ford's unsuccessful re-election campaign in 1976. 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. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Ronald Reagan and the 61st U.S. Secretary of State before returning as the 16th White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush. The war in Iraq may be a disaster for George W. Bush, but for James Baker III it has become an opportunity to seal his reputation as a statesman rather than a political fixer, which is how he's spent much of his career. 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). 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 . 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. Together they had four sons, including James Addison Baker IV, a partner at Baker Botts. [19] Soviet states forced action by holding referendums on independence. with honors in 1957 and practiced law with the Houston firm of Andrews and Kurth from 1957 to 1975. 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. In 1985, Baker received the U.S. Studying timely issues in global economic policy as well as developmental policy in foreign countries. 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.. 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. A drowning can happen in nearly a blink of the eye.". [26], After this landmark event, he did not work to further improve Arab-Israeli relations. [39] When the U.S. occupation of Iraq began in 2003 he was one of the Bush administration's first choices to direct the Coalition Provisional Authority, but he was deemed too old. He graduated cum laude with an A.B. Reagan rebuked Phillips and Wright for having waged a "campaign of sabotage" against Baker. The authors write that in his speech Baker wanted to call for a reasonable middle ground on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. "But the drains have great power, and there are cases where adults have been held down and drowned because of them. A Republican Party campaign leader, James Addison Baker, III (born 1930) helped elect as president both Ronald Reagan and George Bush. The elder Baker was treasury secretary and chief of staff under President Ronald Reagan and secretary of state under former President George Bush. Andrew Baker, a chaplain during the Rev. He also played a prominent role in the Florida recount for the current president. 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. Phone: 713-348-4683 During his tenure at the State Department, Baker traveled to 90 foreign countries as the United States confronted the . He has been married to Susan Garrett Winston since 1973. Plan a gift that will ensure lasting, meaningful support for policy programs important to you. Delivering research and analysis on the effects of major U.S. fiscal policies. He served until May 1976, ran Ford's 1976 presidential campaign, and unsuccessfully sought election as the Attorney General of Texas. Mr. Baker was present in a leading position when, in 1990, the negotiations with the Soviets on the reunification of my homeland primarily concerned the question of the future of the transatlantic alliance. 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. 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 chief legal adviser for George W. Bush during the 2000 election campaign and oversaw the Florida recount. By now, its probably the most famous quote attributed to the 90-year-old elder statesman. After the campaign, he served in various positions for President Richard Nixon. "Thank you for being such a great leader for this country and for this department.". Age: 79. Baker is already getting kudos as a skilled diplomat who engineered a . 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). The book also shows how much the Republican Partys approach to Israel has changed over recent decades. Baker is presently a senior partner in the law firm of Baker Botts. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. James Addison Baker Work Hard, Study.and Keep Out of Politics! Baker voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and said prior to the 2020 election that he would do so again. 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 was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008.[43]. James D. Baker Jr., 68, of Toledo, passed away Thursday, February 28, 2013, at Heartland of Waterville. Israeli officials and public were highly offended due to the tone of his speech, though his address called for little more than his predecessors. "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. A representative for the elder Baker at his law firm said family members were unreachable as they made funeral preparations yesterday evening in Virginia. 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 married Mary McHenry in 1953 and they had four sons, James IV, Mike, John and Doug. High-Powered D.C. (1957) from The University of Texas at Austin and began to practice law in Texas. He also served as Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury for Reagan and as Secretary of State for Bush. 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 . He settled in Huntsville, where he practiced law,. Work Hard, Study.and Keep Out of Politics! [54] Mary Stuart Baker (Mary Stuart was her full first name) died of breast cancer in February 1970. [52], Baker began service on the Rice University board of trustees in 1993.[53]. Baker has a sister, Bonner Baker Moffitt. Baker ran Bush's unsuccessful campaign for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination, but made a favorable impression on the Republican nominee, Ronald Reagan. As he remembered it, the presidents team was discussing a controversial policy in the Oval Office. Baker attended The Hill School, a boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Peter Baker told Haaretz that the secretary of state tried to explain at the time that he didnt actually say Fuck the Jews, but it got little traction and at some point he decided it was just better to move on.