James Baker

James Addison Baker III was born at 1216 Bissonnet Street in Houston.[http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/forms/procdesg.pdf City of Houston: Procedures for Historic District Designation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601175031/http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/forms/procdesg.pdf|date=June 1, 2010}}. City of Houston. (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). Retrieved: July 11, 2008. Baker's mother, Bonner Means Baker, was a Houston socialite. His father, James A. Baker Jr, was a partner of Houston law firm Baker Botts, which was founded by Baker's great-grandfather in 1871.

Baker's father was a strict figure who used corporal punishment, becoming known as "The Warden" by Baker and his friends.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=16–17}} He offered Baker the aphorism which Baker knew as the Five Ps: "prior preparation prevents poor performance." Baker referred to this mantra as a gift he thought about "almost every day of [his] adult life."{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=James Addison |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/212409956 |title="Work hard, study-- and keep out of politics!" |last2=Fiffer |first2=Steve |date=2008 |publisher=Northwestern University Press |isbn=978-0-8101-2489-9 |edition=Northwestern University Press |location=Evanston, Ill |oclc=212409956}} The Warden also forbade Baker from getting involved in politics, believing that it was unseemly. Baker named his memoir Work Hard, Study...and Stay Out of Politics after this worldview, expressed by both his father and grandfather.

While Baker was growing up, his father vehemently opposed Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, believing Roosevelt a class traitor who unduly burned wealthy Americans. Despite the sentiment, Baker's father and grand-father were still Democrats in the one-party state of Texas.

Baker was born eighteen months before his only sibling, his sister Bonner Baker Moffitt."Mother of Secretary of State Baker dies here at 96". Houston Chronicle. April 26, 1991. Retrieved: July 11, 2008. Moffitt struggled with schizophrenia and a tumultuous marriage with Houston Chronicle reporter Donald Moffitt. She predeceased Baker in 2015.{{Cite web |title=Bonner Moffitt Obituary (1931 - 2015) - Towson, MD - Houston Chronicle |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/houstonchronicle/name/bonner-moffitt-obituary?id=18337918 |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=Legacy.com}}

Baker attended the private preparatory academy the Kinkaid School in Houston, where his father was chairman of the board, until 1946.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=20–23}} For his final two years of school, Baker attended the Hill School, a boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania attended by his father and late uncle.

After boarding school, Baker attended Princeton University.Though his grades were middling, his father was a Princeton alumnus and wrote to the school more than a year before Baker applied to lobby for his admission. While at Princeton, Baker, by his own admission, "went wild" and joined multiple drinking societies, including the 21 Club and the "Right Wing Club" (named because members would use their right arms when drinking).{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=James |title='Work Hard, Study... and Keep Out of Politics!': Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin Publishing Group |others=Steve Fiffer |isbn=978-1-4406-8455-5 |location=East Rutherford |pages=9–13}} In 1952, Baker completed his history degree with a 188-page senior thesis, titled "Two Sides of the Conflict: Bevin vs. Bevan," under the supervision of Walter P. Hall.{{cite thesis |last=Baker |first=James Addison III |title=Two Sides of the Conflict: Bevin vs. Bevan |date=1952 |degree=Senior |publisher=Princeton University |url=http://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/handle/88435/dsp01v118rf88q}}

File:USS Monrovia (APA-31) in the 1960s.jpg (pictured) in the Mediterranean Sea.]]

Soon after the outset of the Korean War, while at Princeton, Baker joined a U.S. Marine officer training program to avoid being drafted before he finished college. Baker went on active duty with the Marines from his graduation in 1952 to 1954. After months of basic training, he was originally assigned to lead an infantry platoon which may have taken him to the front in Korea. Baker instead requested to be assigned as a naval gunfire spotter.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=33–34}} Baker received the assignment and served for six months in the Mediterranean Sea aboard the {{USS|Monrovia|APA-31|6}} as first lieutenant. Baker remained in the Marine Corps Reserve until 1958, rising to the rank of captain.

After his mandatory two years of active duty service, Baker began attending the University of Texas School of Law, his father's alma mater.{{cite web |author=Emmis Communications |date=October 24, 1991 |title=The Alcalde |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NYDAAAAMBAJ&q=James+Baker+university+texas+llb&pg=PA61 |publisher=Emmis Communications |via=Google Books}} He considered attending law school in the northeast, but chose the University of Texas due to his family connection and greater compatibility with a Texas-based law career.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=35–37}} At the urging of his father, he joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and underwent severe hazing rituals:

"I went through hell. I had these young kids that were five and six years younger than I was telling me, ‘Sit on that ice block in burlap,’ and they would drop raw eggs down my throat. I did all that for my dad. He wanted me to do it.”

In his twenties and thirties, while working at Andrews Kurth, Baker considered himself apolitical. He was a registered Democrat in one-party Texas, but he wrote in the memoir that he consistently voted for the Republican presidential candidate.{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=James |title='Work Hard, Study... and Keep Out of Politics!': Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin Publishing Group |others=Steve Fiffer |isbn=978-1-4406-8455-5 |location=East Rutherford |pages=24–26}} Baker attended the first inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower after receiving tickets while he was in training at Quantico.{{Cite web |date=2016-10-27 |title=James A. Baker, III Oral History (2011) {{!}} Miller Center |url=https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-oral-histories/james-baker-iii-oral-history-2011 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=millercenter.org |language=en}}

Baker's first wife, the former Mary Stuart McHenry, was active in the Republican Party, coming from a family of Ohio Republicans. After their marriage, she continued to act as a Republican booster, supporting the Congressional campaigns of George H. W. Bush. In addition, Baker's growing closeness with his tennis partner Bush and his conservative father—who supported Bush's father's political career and donated to Bush's first campaigns—influenced Baker's political preferences.{{Cite book |last=Meacham |first=Jon |title=Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush |date=2015 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4000-6765-7 |location=Westminster |pages=150–160}}

File:George Bush at a hamburger fry in Marshall, TX, during the 1970 Senate Race, 17 Jul 70.jpg (pictured) run for the Senate in Texas.]]

Baker supported Bush socially during his failed 1964 Senate campaign against Ralph Yarborough and in his successive successful House campaigns, but not actively. In the lead-up to the 1970 Senate campaign, Bush decided to forgo re-election for the House of Representatives—due to Texas's resign-to-run statute—to run again for the Senate against Yarborough. Bush encouraged Baker to run as his replacement in the House. Baker strongly considered the opportunity for some weeks, since he had grown bored with routine and would have an almost certain safe seat.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=48–49}} He decided not to run to avoid campaigning as his wife's cancer grew worse. She died in February 1970, shortly after Baker decided not to run.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=50–51}}

In the aftermath of her death, Bush encouraged him to assist in the Senate campaign.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=53–54}} Baker chaired Bush's operation in Harris County, fundraising and coordinating support. Bush lost in 1970 to conservative Democrat Lloyd Bentsen—who had defeated the more liberal Yarborough in the Democratic primary—53 percent to Bush's 47 percent.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=56}}

During and after the campaign, Baker continued to work at Andrews Kurth as he reoriented his family life following his wife's passing. By the time of Richard Nixon's re-election campaign in 1972, Baker returned to politics as Finance Chair for Texas.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=57–59}} After Nixon's victory, he considered multiple appointments. Bush lobbied Texas Senator John Tower to submit Baker for nomination to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Though that effort failed, Baker considered joining the executive branch with a scheduled interview for the same day as the sudden departures of John Dean, H.R. Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman in 1973.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=62–63}} He received and rejected an offer to be the assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, due to the continuing Watergate Scandal.{{cite web |title=James A. Baker III Papers, 1957-2011, bulk 1972/1992 |url=https://findingaids.princeton.edu/collections/MC197/#description |website=Princeton University Library |access-date=May 11, 2017}}

Baker continued to work at Andrews Kurth before he received an appointment as Under Secretary of Commerce under Rogers Morton. Morton chose Baker after a trip to China where he spoke with Bush—then the U.S. Ambassador to China—who strongly recommended Baker for the role.{{Cite book |last=Meacham |first=Jon |title=Destiny and power: the American odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush |date=2015 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-4000-6765-7 |edition=First |location=New York |pages=213–214}} Baker was confirmed by the Senate in August 1975.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=72–73}}

In the role, Baker attended the White House as the department representative in discussions surrounding the economy. Baker was a key figure in pushing for protectionist policy toward Chinese textiles, over the objections of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=69–71}} In a campaign event in Oklahoma during Ford's primary campaign against Ronald Reagan, Baker also caused a mild controversy when he declared to anti-Kissinger conservatives that Ford would replace him should he win re-election. White House Chief of Staff Dick Cheney, sternly reprimanded Baker, who apologized to Kissinger.

Baker was an occasional resource for political judgment in the campaign, including in the lead-up to Ford's loss to Reagan in the Texas primary. After the untimely death of political operative Jack Stiles, Morton—who was then running Ford's campaign—appointed Baker to be Ford's "delegate wrangler" during the 1976 Republican National Convention.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=75–76}}

File:1976 campaign button e.JPG for Ford, which the campaign button (above) depicts.]]

In Kansas City, Baker and his team narrowly won the floor fight for Ford, with the count of 1,187 to 1,070.{{Cite web |title=1976 Ford Presidential Campaign - Republican Convention |url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/exhibits/1976election/convention.html |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov}} According to his biographers, among Baker's strengths in the role were consistently accurate delegate estimates, especially compared to the fluctuating numbers offered by Reagan's representative, John Sears.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=78–80}} Baker was hailed in a profile from The New York Times as a "Miracle Man."{{Cite news |date=1976-08-19 |title='Miracle Man' Given Credit for Ford Drive |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/19/archives/miracle-man-given-credit-for-ford-drive-did-not-want-job-how-he-did.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=2025-01-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} His floor team included future campaign manager Paul Manafort.{{Cite news |last=Peters |first=Jeremy W. |date=2016-04-19 |title=Potential G.O.P. Convention Fight Puts Older Hands in Sudden Demand |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/us/politics/potential-gop-convention-fight-puts-older-hands-in-sudden-demand.html |access-date=2025-04-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Shortly after the convention, Baker replaced Morton as campaign chairman.{{Cite news |last=Times |first=James M. Naughton; Special to The New York |date=1976-08-26 |title=Ford Names James Baker To Morton Campaign Job; James Baker Is Named to Morton's Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/26/archives/ford-names-james-baker-to-morton-campaign-job-james-baker-is-named.html?searchResultPosition=3 |access-date=2025-04-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Morton departed after publicly criticizing Ford's prospects following the Reagan challenge. Cheney and political consultant Stuart Spencer chose Baker partly due to his success at convention and the belief, as Cheney put it to Newsweek, that he had the energy to "take a dead organization and turn it around."{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=80–81}} Morton's wife had requested that Baker reject the promotion to reduce her husband's embarrassment, but Baker did not. He told his biographers that taking over in those circumstances was one of the "toughest' moments in his political career.

Among Baker's strategies in the campaign was the decision to agree to the first televised presidential debates since the 1960 election.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=84–86}} Ford and Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter met for three debates. Though polling indicated that Ford fared well in the first debate, he fared poorly in the second debate, partly due a gaffe where he claimed that there was "no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration."{{Cite news |last=Gwertzman |first=Bernard |date=1976-10-07 |title=Ford Denies Moscow Dominates East Europe; Carter Rebuts Him |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/07/archives/ford-denies-moscow-dominates-east-europe-carter-rebuts-him.html?searchResultPosition=2 |access-date=2025-04-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Televised debates have been held in each of the subsequent American presidential elections.{{Cite news |last=Astor |first=Maggie |date=2024-05-15 |title=How the Debates Trump and Biden Agreed to Break With Tradition |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/15/us/politics/earliest-presidential-debates-june.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=2025-04-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}File:President_Ford_discusses_the_1976_campaign_-_NARA_-_7027913.jpg (fourth from left) and others in Vail, CO.]]In the days before the election, Baker controversially wrote to black clergymen to call attention to provocateur Clennon King's criticism of Carter, an integrationist, for the de facto segregation of his Plains, Georgia church.{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Richard Norton |title=An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford |date=2023 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=978-0-06-268416-5 |edition=1st |location= |pages=605–625}} Ford denounced the action internally as an apparent dirty trick he would disavow. It also strengthened the connection Baker had tried to sever between Carter and black supporters, as prominent figures such as Jesse Jackson and Coretta Scott King rallied to support him.

Ford lost the popular vote to Carter by two percentage points and fell in the electoral college by small margins in two states.{{Cite news |date=1976-12-11 |title=Official Tabulation Shows Carter Defeated Ford by 1,681,417 Votes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/11/archives/official-tabulation-shows-carter-defeated-ford-by-1681417-votes.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=2025-04-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Despite the defeat, Baker received credit for improving Ford's chances and for closing the deficit, which was as large as 13 percent when Baker began. Other members of Ford's campaign team, including Stuart Spencer, strongly criticized Baker for failing to spend all of the campaign funds ($21.8 million) allotted to each of the candidates.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=88–90}} Baker had declined to spend the surplus money (about $1 million) for concerns about encroaching on post-Watergate propriety.

File:Mark_White_Portrait.jpg, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General, but lost by an 11-point margin in November 1978. White later went on to be elected Texas governor.|left]]

After the 1976 election, Baker returned to Andrews Kurth, but he intended to re-enter politics. In a conversation with his friend George H.W. Bush, he asked for advice about running for state office in Texas. Bush recommended challenging Governor Dolph Briscoe, but Baker decided to run for Attorney General, expecting to face Price Daniel Jr., son of the former governor and descendant of Sam Houston. Baker concluded that Daniel would be an easier candidate to defeat than Briscoe, as a pedigreed liberal in a state that was shifting toward conservative Republicans like Reagan.

Daniel ran for the Democratic primary, but lost to former Texas Secretary of State Mark White by 4 percentage points. Baker himself ran unopposed in his primary.{{Cite news |last=Times |first=Adam Clymer; Special to The New York |date=1978-05-04 |title=Texas Republicans Battle in Primary, but Carter Is Their No. 1 Target |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/04/archives/texas-republicans-battle-in-primary-but-carter-is-their-no-1-target.html?searchResultPosition=5 |access-date=2025-04-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

In the general election, Baker ran as a moderate, telling advocacy group LULAC that he would support civil rights protections, even as Republican nominee for governor, Bill Clements, did not.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=97–100}} Baker did maintain the Republican orthodoxy on preventing taxpayer-funding of abortions, instituting harsher mandatory sentences for some criminals, and supporting the death penalty. National Republicans, including Reagan, Ford, 1976 Vice Presidential nominee Bob Dole campaigned on Baker's behalf in the race.

Baker's ran on the slogan "Texas needs a lawyer, not a politician, for attorney general."{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Marjorie |title=His Master's Voice {{!}} Vanity Fair |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1992/10/his-masters-voice |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Vanity Fair {{!}} The Complete Archive |language=en-US}} The Houston Chronicle political reporter Jim Barlow, who led the Chronicle's coverage of the race, told Baker's biographers that "he was the worst retail politician" that he had encountered over a 15-year career.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=102–103}} The Chronicle editorial page endorsed White over Baker, leading Baker to resent his hometown newspaper.

Baker lost the Attorney General race to White with an 11-point deficit. In the same year, Clements defeated Democratic governor nominee John Hill, becoming the first Republican to be elected Texas governor since the Reconstruction era. Republican Senator John Tower also defeated Democratic challenger, Bob Krueger.

Bush, who was serving as chairman of the First International Bank following the end of the Ford presidency, requested Baker's help in running for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980. As early as December 1978, Baker had already checked former President Ford to confirm that Ford would not seek the nomination himself, to prevent any conflicts for Baker as Ford's previous campaign manager.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=104–105}} Baker and Bush also spoke with Reagan, a previous high performer in the Republican primaries, to inform him of their intention to run.

Baker and Bush chose a strategy for the primaries that then-incumbent Carter pioneered in his 1976 campaign.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=105–107}} To compete with party heavyweights like Reagan and former Texas governor John Connally, Baker's argued that the campaign would need a superior organizations, arguing that "primary elections are won by organization!—almost regardless of candidate."

File:George_Bush_and_James_Baker_visit_with_US_Senator_Paul_Laxalt_(R-Nev)_during_the_1980_campaign.jpg (left) speaks with Baker (center) and George Bush during Bush's 1980 campaign for the Republican nomination.]]

Baker and Bush's campaign strategy resulted in a Bush victory over Reagan in the Iowa race, 31.6 percent to 29.5 percent.{{Cite news |last=Times |first=Adam Clymer Special To the New York |date=1980-01-22 |title=Carter Wins Strong Victory in Iowa As Bush Takes Lead Over Reagan; Iowa Caucuses Give President Strong Victory Cuts in Reagan Strength Carter Performance in 1976 Test of Reagan Strategy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/01/22/archives/carter-wins-strong-victory-in-iowa-as-bush-takes-lead-over-reagan.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=2025-04-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Bush lost significantly in the New Hampshire primary—Reagan's 50.2 percent to Bush's 23—following the victory in Iowa. In that primary contest, Bush and Baker engaged in a controversial debate performance hosted by the Nashua Telegraph that hurt his electoral prospects.{{Cite news |last=Grynbaum |first=Michael M. |date=2020-10-22 |title=What We Learned from the Final Presidential Debate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/22/us/presidential-debate-live?searchResultPosition=1#from-the-annals-of-muted-mic-history-ronald-reagans-i-am-paying-for-this-microphone-moment |access-date=2025-04-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Over the successive months, Baker led the Bush campaign to a handful of victories, including in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Maine. Despite some success, Baker felt Bush was unlikely to defeat Reagan.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=117–120}} Without conferring with his candidate, Baker hinted to The Washington Post in early June that Bush would soon wind down his campaign.{{Cite book |last=Meacham |first=Jon |title=Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush |date=2015 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4000-6765-7 |location=Westminster |pages=235–237}} When they eventually met in Texas to discuss prospects going forward, Baker encouraged Bush to end his campaign, arguing that they lacked funds and that continuing would jeopardize the possibility of Reagan naming him Vice President nominee. Bush didn't want to abandon his organization and expressed ambivalence toward the Vice Presidency, but he acceded to Baker's advice to end his campaign.{{Cite book |last=Meacham |first=Jon |title=Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush |date=2015 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4000-6765-7 |location=Westminster |pages=237–239}}

In the months between Bush's withdrawal and the 1980 Republican National Convention, Baker lobbied the Reagan campaign to choose Bush as Vice Presidential nominee in the name of party unity.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=120–123}} Despite misgivings over his "Voodoo economics" criticism and moderately pro-choice views, Reagan eventually picked Bush for the nomination.{{Cite book |last=Boot |first=Max |title=Reagan: His Life and Legend |date=2024 |publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation |isbn=978-0-87140-944-7 |edition=1st |location=New York, NY |pages=405–410}} Baker was offered, but rejected, the chance to run Bush's Vice Presidential campaign, feeling it was below him.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=123–125}} Instead, he worked on the Reagan campaign in managing the debates.

As debate negotiator, Baker worked with Democrat Robert Strauss and the League of Women Voters to decide on how many debates to hold and when. Though there were three debates scheduled, only the last featured Carter and Reagan on the same stage. In his memoir, Carter advisor Stuart Eizenstat credited Baker as "outfox[ing]" the Carter camp in scheduling the debate so soon before the election, leaving little potential for damage control.{{Cite book |last=Eizenstat |first=Stuart |title=President Carter: The White House Years |date=2018 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |others=Madeleine Albright |isbn=978-1-250-10455-7 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=900–910}}

In 1983, Baker faced controversy, known as "Debategate," upon the revelation that Baker's debate team had received a binder with Carter's debate preparation and strategy. In a letter Baker wrote to Congressman Donald Albosta, he claimed:

It is my recollection that I was given the book by [Reagan campaign chairman] William Casey with the suggestion that it might be of use to the debate briefing team. [...] It is correct that, after seeing the book, I did not undertake to find out how our campaign had obtained it."Letter, James Baker to Representative Albosta, June 22, 1983 folder "Albosta – Baker/Casey/Stockman/Gergen Responses," box 45F, Fred Fielding Files, Ronald Reagan Library digital collection https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/2024-02/40-184-7788301-045F-005-2023.pdf?VersionId=7loH5nMRmNPkbqpqTCJVNPqFuZ10jc6E

Whether Baker's use of the Carter briefing books has itself been a matter of debate. Though the book was used by Reagan's opponent in the mock preparatory debate as a reference, Baker claimed to his biographers that they weren't "worth a damn." Carter himself remained convinced that his material had been unethically used against him in the debate, but felt that Baker's upright reputation excused him from any of Carter's ill will.

On October 29, 1980, the night after Reagan's successful performance in the debate, Reagan campaign consultant Stuart Spencer proposed to Reagan that Baker should be his chief of staff, should he win.{{Cite book |last=Cannon |first=Lou |title=President Reagan: the role of a lifetime |date=2000 |publisher=Public Affairs |isbn=978-1-891620-91-1 |edition=1st Public Affairs |location=New York |pages=45–55}} Supported by Nancy Reagan and Reagan aide Michael Deaver, Spencer felt that Baker would be a less provocative choice than hardliner Edwin Meese, who had worked with Reagan throughout his campaigns and governorship. Reagan agreed, announcing Baker as his choice the morning after his election victory.File:James Baker, Edwin Meese, and Michael Deaver.jpg" (from left to right) Chief of Staff James Baker, Counselor to the President Ed Meese, Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver at the White House, December 2, 1981]]

Shortly after the election, Baker and Meese met to arrange their division of responsibilities. chief of staff in an informal agreement that has been referred to as the Troika: Baker would be chief of staff, in charge of day-to-day issues of access to the president and negotiations; Meese would be Counselor to the President, in charge of directing policy and long-term initiatives; With Deaver, who would be in charge of the administration's image, they made up "The Troika" of senior White House officials.

The Troika, under Baker's guidance, significantly restricted automatic access to Reagan to only family, Bush, and certain White House support staff.{{Cite book |last=Boot |first=Max |title=Reagan: His Life and Legend |date=2024 |publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation |isbn=978-0-87140-944-7 |edition=1st |location=New York, NY |pages=450–465}} Other callers would have to receive Troika approval. Among other influences, the Troika had effective veto power over hiring and firing. Though Reagan was the ultimate decider, he only acted on unanimous consent from the Troika, often preferring not to fire people if possible.{{Cite book |last=Cannon |first=Lou |title=President Reagan: the role of a lifetime |date=2000 |publisher=Public Affairs |isbn=978-1-891620-91-1 |edition=1st Public Affairs |location=New York |pages=235–250}}

Despite the power-sharing principle behind the Troika, Baker is considered to have had a high degree of influence over the first Reagan administration. Reagan biographer Max Boot argued that the arrangement let Baker "run circles around Meese," whom Baker privately derided as "Pillsbury Doughboy." Lou Cannon, who covered the administration for The Washington Post, referred to Baker as being the "key" to the proper functioning of the Troika.{{Cite book |last=Cannon |first=Lou |title=President Reagan: the role of a lifetime |date=2000 |publisher=Public Affairs |isbn=978-1-891620-91-1 |edition=1st Public Affairs |location=New York |pages=100–115}} Ford and Bush advisor Brent Scowcroft referred to Baker as "co-president, in a way," under Reagan.{{Cite book |last=Whipple |first=Chris |title=The gatekeepers: how the White House Chiefs of Staff define every presidency |date=2017 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0-8041-3824-6 |edition=First |location=New York |pages=110–115}} In 1992, Washington Post columnist Marjorie Williams referred to Baker as "the most powerful [chief of staff] in political memory."{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Marjorie |title=His Master's Voice {{!}} Vanity Fair |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1992/10/his-masters-voice |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Vanity Fair {{!}} The Complete Archive |language=en-US}}

In March 1981, John Hinckley tried to shoot Reagan while he was leaving an AFL-CIO conference in Washington.{{Cite web |title=Assassination Attempt {{!}} Ronald Reagan |url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/permanent-exhibits/assassination-attempt |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=www.reaganlibrary.gov |language=en}} Baker wasn't in his entourage and learned of the shooting as Reagan was in the hospital. Baker and Meese joined Deaver at the hospital, where Reagan was in critical condition. Baker, Meese, and White House Political Director Lyn Nofziger decided amongst themselves whether to use the provisions of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to make Bush the Acting President while Reagan's status was in flux.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=151–156}}

File:President_Ronald_Reagan_meeting_with_Senator_Paul_Laxalt_and_James_Baker_at_George_Washington_hospital.jpg, and President Ronald Reagan in George Washington University Hospital 10 days after the attempt on Reagan's life by John Hinckley.]]

The group of advisors decided, without asking Bush, to avoid any temporary transition. Baker himself worried that such an action would feed into conservatives' existing distrust toward both him and Bush. With Baker's authorization, his deputy Richard Darman actively stopped White House discussion—by White House Counsel Fred Fielding and Secretary of State Alexander Haig, among others—of any transition by taking the transition documents they had drafted and putting it in his office safe.{{Cite book |last=Boot |first=Max |title=Reagan: His Life and Legend |date=2024 |publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation |isbn=978-0-87140-944-7 |edition=1st |location=New York, NY |pages=460–470}} According to his biographers, Baker consciously restricted access to Reagan during his recovery period, fearing that it would cast doubts on his overall competence if the country knew his poor health in the immediate aftermath.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=156–159}}

Members of the conservative movement publicly criticized Baker for his support of Sandra Day O'Connor and apparent inaction on conservative priorities. In Spring 1982, Baker confronted conservative writer Robert Novak for the negative coverage he felt he received over multiple Evans & Novak columns.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=200–210}} Shortly after Baker's outburst at Novak, long-time Reagan booster Clymer Wright of Houston wrote a letter to Republicans in an unsuccessful effort to convince Reagan to dismiss Baker.{{cite news |date=June 5, 1982 |title=Phil Gailey and Warren Weaver, Jr., "Briefing" |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/05/us/briefing-186924.html |access-date=January 27, 2011 |work=The New York Times}} Wright claimed that Baker, a former Democrat and a Bush political intimate, was a "usurper" who undermined conservative initiatives in the administration.

Reagan directly rejected Wright's request in a letter, at Baker's request. Reagan wrote that he himself was in charge and that Baker was following Reagan's own initiative. Despite the rebuttal, conservatives continued to distrust Baker. Former administration official Lyn Nofziger wrote a letter to conservative Republicans in late 1982 to express concern that the 1984 race would be a "Bush-Reagan," rather than a "Reagan-Bush," campaign. Baker and Reagan both called Nofziger directly to ask him to retract the sentiment. In January 1983, Interior Secretary James G. Watt pioneered the slogan "Let Reagan be Reagan," a barb about Baker and Bush, which became a common refrain among activists and columnists.

Three years into the administration, Baker became heavily dispirited and tired due to the weight of his job; according to his wife, Baker was "so anxious to get out of [his job]" that he gave some consideration to the prospect of becoming Commissioner of Baseball. Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/SPkulMz1Fo0 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20201101115425/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPkulMz1Fo0&feature=youtu.be Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web |date=July 4, 2020 |title=James Baker: President Maker [documentary] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPkulMz1Fo0 |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} Despite having no strong baseball fandom, Baker reached the last level of consideration to replace Bowie Kuhn before losing out to Peter Ueberroth.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=220–235}} Reagan offered to appoint Baker as Secretary of Transportation in 1983, but Baker believed that his rival Meese had pushed the plan. At Bush's suggestion, he also strongly considered trying to become CIA Director. In 1983, some Texas legislators attempted to draft Baker to run for the Senate seat that would open following John Tower's retirement, but Baker declined what he felt might be a demotion in power.{{Cite magazine |last=TIME |date=1983-09-05 |title=Tower Burnout |url=https://time.com/archive/6860009/tower-burnout/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}

In October 1983, Baker attempted to replace William Clark as National Security Advisor. Clark left for the Interior Department, partly out of feeling frustrated by what he perceived as Baker, Deaver, and Nancy Reagan's undue influence over the president.{{Cite book |last=Boot |first=Max |title=Reagan: His Life and Legend |date=2024 |publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation |isbn=978-0-87140-944-7 |edition=1st |location=New York, NY |pages=450–465}} Baker planned for Deaver to be his replacement as Chief of Staff.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=145–155}} Reagan initially agreed to the arrangement and had a drafted press release announcing the change. According to his biographers, Baker agreed that Reagan should inform the National Security Council before a press announcement, but did not attend the meeting himself.

File:Robert McFarlane, James Baker, and John Poindexter.jpg Robert McFarlane (left) and John Poindexter.]]

After a long lunch with Baker ally George Shultz, Reagan was late to the NSC meeting, so Clark came up to the Oval Office to retrieve him.{{Cite book |last=FitzGerald |first=Frances |title=Way out there in the blue: Reagan, Star Wars, and the end of the Cold War |date=2001 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-0023-3 |edition=1. Touchstone |location=New York, NY |pages=210–220}} Upon seeing the press release announcing the changes, Clark organized the NSC's conservative bloc— Clark, Meese, Casey, Weinberger—to reject the reshuffle.

The conservative bloc wanted to appoint UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, an anti-Soviet hardliner, as Clark's replacement instead. Baker, Deaver, and Shultz rallied to reject Kirkpatrick as unacceptably extreme. Reagan eventually chose Robert McFarlane, who was later convicted of crimes stemming from the Iran-Contra affair, as Clark's replacement. In his memoir, Reagan referred to the decision not to appoint Baker as a "turning point" in his presidency.{{Cite book |last=Reagan |first=Ronald |title=An American Life |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-7434-0025-9 |publication-date=November 15, 1990 |pages=420–430}}

Baker began plan Reagan's expected re-election bid beginning in Autumn 1982{{Cite book |last1=Goldman |first1=Peter Louis |title=The quest for the presidency 1984 |last2=Fuller |first2=Tony |last3=DeFrank |first3=Thomas M. |date=1985 |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=978-0-553-05100-1 |series=A Newsweek book |location=Toronto ; New York |pages=15}} Though Reagan did not officially announce his campaign until late January 1984—which the planning committee itself decided—Baker and his informal group—which included Deaver, Stuart Spencer, and Republican pollster Robert Teeter—believed his candidacy was a foregone conclusion.{{Cite magazine |last=Church |first=George J. |date=1984-02-06 |title=There He Goes Again: Reagan Will Run |url=https://time.com/archive/6699815/there-he-goes-again-reagan-will-run/ |access-date=2025-04-18 |magazine=TIME |language=en}} The meetings ran weekly in the Madison Hotel until late 1983.

As the Chief of Staff, Baker was not officially in charge of the campaign operations, but exerted extensive power over it. As such, Baker conflicted repeatedly with Senator Paul Laxalt, who was the official 1984 campaign chairman.{{Cite book |last1=Goldman |first1=Peter |title=The quest for the presidency 1984 |last2=Fuller |first2=Tony |last3=DeFrank |first3=Thomas M. |date=1985 |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=978-0-553-05100-1 |series=A Newsweek book |location=Toronto New York |pages=40}} Baker informally chose Laxalt's deputy, campaign manager Ed Rollins, and the question of who Rollins reported to spurred some minor internecine conflicts.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=235–250}}{{Cite book |last1=Goldman |first1=Peter |title=The quest for the presidency 1984 |last2=Fuller |first2=Tony |last3=DeFrank |first3=Thomas M. |date=1985 |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=978-0-553-05100-1 |series=A Newsweek book |location=Toronto New York |pages=261–265}} Early in the campaign, Laxalt directly complained to Reagan that Baker had assumed de facto control over the campaign. Reagan confirmed Laxalt's authority, leading to Baker accusing Rollins of "sandbagging" him in the campaign. Laxalt also dismissed Baker as "the hired help" when they were at odds over campaign direction.

During the campaign, Baker continued to work as a member of the cadre of senior advisors with his deputy Darman, Spencer, Deaver, Stockman, Rollins, and Laxalt. Baker received credit for empowering conservative Republicans of the New Right—led by Representative Newt Gingrich—to decide much of the 1984 party platform, believing that Reagan would run on his actions as president more than specific policy proposals. Baker and Spencer did reject an attempt by platform-drafters to forswear any future tax hikes.{{Cite book |last1=Goldman |first1=Peter |title=The quest for the presidency 1984 |last2=Fuller |first2=Tony |last3=DeFrank |first3=Thomas M. |date=1985 |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=978-0-553-05100-1 |series=A Newsweek book |location=Toronto New York}} Instead, they had Reagan make his stance not that he would promise not to raise taxes, only that he had "no plans" to raise taxes. The latter would allow Reagan to avoid upsetting anti-tax conservatives while allowing that taxes could be necessary to reaching a balanced budget without major cuts to Medicare or Social Security.

File:President Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, James Baker, Ken Khachigian, Rosie Greer, and Lou Cannon celebrating the end of the 1984 presidential campaign.jpg

Reagan's won the election with a record 525 electoral votes total (of a possible 538), and received 58.8% of the popular vote to Walter Mondale's 40.6%.[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1984&off=0&f=1 1984 National Results] U.S. Election Atlas.

The campaign overall was optimistic about their chances throughout the process. A widely shared sentiment among Baker and senior aides was the one expressed by Stuart Spencer, that their goal was to not "screw up" their otherwise excellent chances.{{Cite book |last=Boot |first=Max |title=Reagan: His Life and Legend |date=2024 |publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation |isbn=978-0-87140-944-7 |edition=1st |location=New York, NY |pages=600–620}} Baker himself earned praise for minimizing campaign conflicts by directing conflicting aides toward Rollins, who would then adjudicate disputes before they boiled over. Unlike in the 1976 and 1980 campaigns that Baker was involved in, there were no major staffing changes throughout the Republican campaign.

Baker managed Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign in which Reagan polled a record 525 electoral votes total (of a possible 538), and received 58.8% of the popular vote to Walter Mondale's 40.6%.[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1984&off=0&f=1 1984 National Results] U.S. Election Atlas.

File:President_Ronald_Reagan_making_a_statement_to_the_press_announcing_the_nomination_of_James_Baker_to_be_Secretary_of_the_Treasury_and_the_appointment_of_Donald_Regan_as_Chief_of_Staff.jpg announcing the nomination of James Baker to be Secretary of the Treasury and the appointment of Donald Regan as White House Chief of Staff on January 8, 1985, a job-swap to which both Baker and Regan agreed.]]

In 1985, Reagan named Baker as United States Secretary of the Treasury, in a job-swap with then-Secretary Donald Regan, a former Merrill Lynch executive who became Chief of Staff. Regan suggested the change to Baker, feeling that the White House position would grant him greater power.{{Cite book |last=Boot |first=Max |title=Reagan: His Life and Legend |date=2024 |publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation |isbn=978-0-87140-944-7 |edition=1st |location=New York, NY |pages=610–630}} For his part, Baker relished the prestige of the Treasury Department and considered it a "stepping stone" to further prominence.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=250–265}} Reagan had little role in the plan, immediately approving it after his appointees suggested it.

Baker's departure from the White House came at the same time as others from Reagan's first term, including Meese, Deaver, Stockman, Rollins, and Baker's deputy Darman, who went with him to the Treasury Department. Baker's departure in particular marked a "turning point" in Reagan's presidency, according to Reagan biographer Lou Cannon.{{Cite book |last=Cannon |first=Lou |title=President Reagan: the role of a lifetime |date=2000 |publisher=Public Affairs |isbn=978-1-891620-91-1 |edition=1st Public Affairs |location=New York |pages=520–540}} After Regan replaced Baker, administration "blunders [became] more frequent and damage control [was] lacking."

Baker was confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury on January 29, 1985 with a unanimous 95-0 vote in the Senate.{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Chicago |date=1985-01-30 |title=SENATE VOTES 95-0 TO CONFIRM BAKER FOR TREASURY POST |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/01/30/senate-votes-95-0-to-confirm-baker-for-treasury-post/ |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}

Baker brought his long-time aide Darman to the Treasury Department as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Darman was considered to be essential to Baker's agenda, as a detail-oriented and aggressive complement to Baker's more politic style. According to Wall Street Journal reporters Alan S. Murray and Jeffrey Birnbaum, stakeholders considered the Baker tenure to really be the Baker-Darman Treasury, with "Darmanesque" tactics representing anything particularly "sneaky and conniving."{{Cite book |last=Murray |first=Alan |title=Showdown at Gucci Gulch |date=2010 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |others=Jeffrey Birnbaum, Peter Osnos |isbn=978-0-394-75811-4 |location=Westminster |pages=85–95}} Darman chafed at the outsized credit Baker received and resented being known as a "Baker aide" rather than his own entity.

File:James_Addison_Baker,_III_Signature.svg from his confirmation as Treasury Secretary in 1985 to his departure in 1988.]]

Besides Darman, Baker also brought Margaret Tutwiler and John F.W. Rogers from his White House staff to the Treasury department, as Assistant Secretary For Public Affairs and Assistant Secretary for Management respectively.

The immediate priority of the Treasury under Baker was a plan to overhaul the tax code. Baker, as Chief of Staff, had placed a promise to "study" tax reform in the beginning of 1984, as a sop for the election year political climate.{{Cite book |last=Murray |first=Alan |title=Showdown at Gucci Gulch |date=2010 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |others=Jeffrey Birnbaum, Peter Osnos |isbn=978-0-394-75811-4 |location=Westminster |pages=55–65}} Regan's plan (known as Treasury 1) was released toward the beginning of 1985. It would have removed many tax loopholes preferred by Reagan's business-friendly base. Though Democrats, including former presidential nominee George McGovern, spoke highly of the plan, Baker received questions during his confirmation hearings from Senators concerned for their local industries. Some Republican donors also returned pins they had received for large donations to the party, as a gesture of dissatisfaction with the reform.

File:President_Ronald_Reagan_talking_to_James_Baker_and_Don_Regan.jpg (right), who preceded Baker (center) as Treasury Secretary, and Baker addressed Reagan (left) shortly after their new appointments. Baker conducted a major overhaul of Regan's tax proposal throughout 1985 and 1986.]]

Over the course of four months, Baker and his staff drafted their own plan to present to Congress. Baker worked clandestinely on discussions between White House representatives and the offices of Senators Howard Baker (R-TN), Bob Dole (R-KS), Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), and Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (D-MA).{{Cite book |last1=Birnbaum |first1=Jeffrey H. |title=Showdown at Gucci Gulch: lawmakers, lobbyists, and the unlikely triumph of tax reform |last2=Murray |first2=Alan S. |date=1988 |publisher=Vintage Books |isbn=978-0-394-75811-4 |edition=1st Vintage Books |location=New York |pages=95–105}} The goal was to develop a compromise that avoided controversy, which Baker consciously modeled off of the 1983 Social Security reforms.

The powerful House Ways and Mean Committee chairman Dan Rostenkwoski did not participate in Baker's preliminary negotiations, feeling it would cede Congressional authority if he joined an executive branch proposal. When Reagan announced the proposal—which he referred to as a "second American Revolution"—in May 1985, Rostenkowski broadcast his own response to clarify areas of difference.{{Cite web |title=Address to the Nation on Tax Reform - May 1985 {{!}} Ronald Reagan |url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/address-nation-tax-reform-may-1985 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=www.reaganlibrary.gov |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=1985-05-29 |title=REAGAN'S TAX PLAN: SUPPORT IN CONGRESS AND CALLS FOR CHANGES; DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S RESPONSE TO THE TAX PROPOSAL |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/29/business/reagan-s-tax-plan-support-congress-calls-for-changes-democratic-party-s-response.html |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Following the announcement in May, Baker continued to work with Rostenkowski and other members of Congress. In this process, one of Rostenkwoski's aides noted that he "really played Rostentowski like a cello," by treating him with excessive regard.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=270–280}}

The four "bedrock principles" Baker felt were necessary for reform were that it be revenue-neutral, would "reduce the top income tax rate for individuals to no higher than 35 percent, [would] remove millions of lower-income families from the tax rolls, and [would] retain the popular mortgage interest deduction."

File:President Ronald Reagan, Ken Duberstein, George H. W. Bush, Ed Meese, Craig Fuller, Richard Darman, James Baker, Caspar Weinberger, and William Clark watching the Tax Bill vote with staff.jpg vote on the 1986 tax bill.]]

When Rostenkowski introduced his bill in December 1985, it offered different provisions, including a 38 percent top rate and fewer deductions, but Baker supported it. When some House Republicans, including Cheney (R-WY) and Trent Lott (R-MS) tried to organized to reject the plan, Baker successfully appealed to Reagan to stop the revolt. Cheney credited Baker for having Reagan give a patriotic speech to House members in the immediate wake of the Arrow Air Flight 1285R crash in Canada that had resulted in the death of more than 200 U.S. Marines.

The bill passed the House in mid-December 1985 and was reported to the Senate for further consideration.{{Cite web |last=Rep. Rostenkowski |first=Dan [D-IL-8 |date=1986-10-22 |title=H.R.3838 - 99th Congress (1985-1986): Tax Reform Act of 1986 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/house-bill/3838 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=www.congress.gov}} In the Senate, Chairman Bob Packwood (R-OR) significantly revised the House plan, mainly by lowering the top tax rate to 25 percent for individuals, while increasing the corporate tax burden by closing loopholes and other initiatives.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=280–290}} Baker supported Packwood's change and worked to lobby Senators to the plan. The bill eventually passed the Senate in July 1986 and after the reconciliation process, was signed into law by Reagan on October 22, 1986.

Baker received credit for fostering the compromise that led to a major reform of the tax code. But Baker also earned notice for some carve-outs that he advocated for. Along with Senator John Danforth (R-MO), Baker strongly argued against a proposed tax on money gifted from grandparents to grandchildren.{{Cite book |last=Murray |first=Alan |title=Showdown at Gucci Gulch |date=2010 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |others=Jeffrey Birnbaum, Peter Osnos |isbn=978-0-394-75811-4 |location=Westminster |pages=260–270}} Aides believed Danforth and Baker vigorously denied the so-called "kiddie tax" due in part to their own extensive wealth. Baker also weighed in to break an impasse in favor of oil-state Senators who wanted exemptions for the petrochemical industry. Baker's own extensive business with the industry and with his home state of oil-rich Texas was believed by some stakeholders to have informed his behavior.

Besides some of the broader issues, Baker also, in his words, used the bill to get "payback" against the Houston Chronicle for not endorsing him in his 1978 campaign for Texas Attorney General. Due to a law passed in 1969, the newspaper's owners required periodic exemptions to maintain their stake. In the 1986 bill, Baker intentionally removed their exemption, leading to their sale in 1987 for $400 million dollars to Hearst.{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=J. Michael |date=1987-03-13 |title=Hearst Corp. Pays $400 Million for Texas Newspaper : One of Most Expensive Newspaper Purchases Ever |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-13-fi-5425-story.html |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} Decades later, Baker told his biographers that he was happy "getting even."

File:President_Ronald_Reagan_announcing_the_nomination_of_Alan_Greenspan_as_Chairman_of_the_Board_of_Governors_of_the_Federal_Reserve_Board.jpg James Baker with U.S. president Ronald Reagan and Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker at the White House Press Room during President Reagan's announcement of Alan Greenspan nomination to be the new chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank on June 2, 1987.]]

In addition to the focus on tax reform, Baker expended attention to the issue of currency valuation. His feeling, according to his biographers, was that the increased strength of the US dollar had hampered domestic industries and exacerbated American trade deficits.

To resolve the perceived issue, Baker met with finance ministers from Japan, France, West Germany, and the United Kingdom in September 1985 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.{{Cite web |date=2018-12-03 |title=UTLink: Plaza Accord, September 22, 1985 |url=http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/finance/fm850922.htm |access-date=2025-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203003241/http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/finance/fm850922.htm |archive-date=December 3, 2018 }} The parties agreed to sell their stores of American currency to decrease the supply, aiming for a 10-12 percent depreciation in the dollar. To avoid speculation, Baker kept much of the press and the Reagan administration—including Secretaries of State and Commerce—out of the loop on a major agreement over international finance.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and Japanese Vice Minister of Finance Toyoo Gyohten wrote that the Accord represented a "coup de grace" that sent a strong sign to guide the market.{{Cite book |last1=Volcker |first1=Paul |title=Changing Fortunes: The World's Money and the Threat to American Leadership |last2=Gyohten |first2=Toyoo |publisher=Three Rivers Press |isbn=978-0812922182 |publication-date=May 3, 1993 |pages=280–290}}

In early 1987, the parties to the Plaza Accord met again in Paris to adjust their approach to the value of the dollar. In the intervening year and a half, the dollar had depreciated by 40 percent. Under the Louvre Accord, the parties agreed to stablize it where it ended

File:DJIA_Black_Monday_1987.svg" in October 1987 American stock markets fell steeply. Baker's comments on monetary policy are considered one of multiple contributing factors to the crash.]]In the middle of October 1987, Baker made multiple statements that threatened the US would not support the dollar vis a vis the Deutschmark after West Germany raised its own interest rates. The October 18, 1987 New York Times carried an article detailing Baker's comments as an "abrupt shift" and noted that it might "erode markets."{{Cite news |last1=Kilborn |first1=Peter T. |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1987-10-18 |title=U.S SAID TO ALLOW DECLINE OF DOLLAR AGAINST THE MARK |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/18/world/us-said-to-allow-decline-of-dollar-against-the-mark.html |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

The next day, October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced its largest ever single-day drop in value (22.6 percent). The event, which was preceded by smaller drops in the prior week and similar drops in the Asian and European markets, became known as "Black Monday." Though the event had multiple factors, there were people who laid blame at American monetary policy and Baker's comments specifically. In a survey of monetary policy, economist Yōichi Funabashi summarized the role of Baker's comments in the panic:

"...wait a minute. If [Baker] is using it as a lever [to influence the Bundesbank] and we believe it won't work, there is no bottom. If he isn't using it as a lever, and he just actually wants the dollar to go down, then there is no stability. And if he isn't clear whether it is one or the other of those, then he doesn't understand his own system and his own business, and we'll have a problem of confidence."{{Cite book |last=Funabashi |first=Yōichi |title=Managing the dollar: from the Plaza to the Louvre |date=1988 |publisher=Institute for International Economics |others=Institute for International Economics (U.S.) |isbn=978-0-88132-071-8 |location=Washington, DC |pages=235}}

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. He also played a role in the development of the American Silver Eagle and American Gold Eagle coins, which both were released in 1986.

{{see also|Foreign policy of the George H. W. Bush administration}}

File:President George H. W. Bush with James Baker at a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.jpg at a Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) on November 9, 1990]]

President George H. W. Bush appointed Baker Secretary of State in 1989. Baker served in this role through 1992. 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.

File:James Baker III, State Department Portrait by Ned Bittinger.jpg Portrait of James Baker by Ned Bittinger]]

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.{{cite book |first=William |last=Taubman |year=2017 |title=Gorbachev: His Life and Times |location=New York City |publisher=Simon & Schuster |pages=546–552 |isbn=978-1-4711-4796-8}} 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. On February 9, 1990, Baker, as the US Secretary of State, assured Gorbachev: "If we maintain a presence in a Germany that is a part of NATO, there would be no extension of NATO’s jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east".

[https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/16116-document-05-memorandum-conversation-between Memorandum of conversation between Mikhail Gorbachev and James Baker in Moscow], nsarchive.gwu.edu[https://eisenhowermedianetwork.org/russia-ukraine-war-peace The U.S. Should Be a Force for Peace in the World], eisenhowermedianetwork.org But Bush ignored his assurances and later pushed for NATO's eastwards expansion. 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.{{cite news |title=Russia, Ukraine and the doomed 30-year quest for a post-Soviet order |url=https://www.ft.com/content/742f15fc-675a-4622-b022-cbec444651cf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/742f15fc-675a-4622-b022-cbec444651cf |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |work=Financial Times |date=February 25, 2022 |access-date=February 27, 2022}} Bush and US defence secretary Dick Cheney were proponents for Soviet dissolution.

Soviet states forced action by holding referendums on independence.

In 1991, the USSR dissoluted.

When Ukraine became independent, Baker sought to ensure that Ukraine would give up its nuclear weapons. On 5 December 1994, the Budapest Memorandum was signed.

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...."Lawrence Freedman and Efraim Karsh, The Gulf conflict: diplomacy and war in the new world order (New Jersey, 1993), p. 257. Baker later acknowledged that the intent of this statement was to threaten a retaliatory nuclear strike on Iraq,[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/plague/interviews/baker.html Plague war: Interviews: James Baker]. Frontline. PBS. 1995. and the Iraqis received his message.2000. [https://books.google.com/books?id=s99RxDhaw9AC&pg=PA69 "Sadam's Toxic Arsenal"]. Planning the Unthinkable. {{ISBN|0801437768}}

Baker helped to construct the 34-nation alliance (Coalition of the willing) that fought alongside the United States in the Gulf War.[https://www.pbs.org/program/james-baker/ James Baker: The Man Who Made Washington Work] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917002541/http://www.pbs.org/program/james-baker/ |date=September 17, 2017 }}. PBS. 2015.

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 Israeli–Palestinian peace process through negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinians, as well as Arab countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.Id., at pp. 430-454.

Baker was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991.

{{Undue weight|date=November 2019}}

File:James Baker 1991 DA-ST-92-09582.jpg

Before the US presidential election on November 8, 1988, he and a team of some Middle Eastern policies experts created a report detailing the Palestine-Israel interactions. His team included Dennis Ross and many others who were soon appointed to the new Bush administration.

Baker blocked the recognition of Palestine by threatening to cut funding to agencies in the United Nations.{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576357721571060778|work=The Wall Street Journal|first=John|last=Bolton|title=How to Block the Palestine Statehood Ploy | date=June 3, 2011|url-access=subscription }} 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.

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."

In May 1989, he gave a speech at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. 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". Israeli officials and public were highly offended due to the tone of his speech, though his address called for little more than his predecessors.{{Cite journal|last=Christison|first=Kathleen|date=Autumn 1994|title=Splitting the Difference: The Palestinian-Israeli Policy of James Baker|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|volume=24|issue=1|pages=39–50|jstor=2537981|doi=10.2307/2537981|url=http://jps.ucpress.edu/content/24/1/39.full.pdf}}

File:President George H. W. Bush meets with Secretary James Baker in the Oval Office of the White House.jpg James Baker with President George H.W. Bush in the Oval Office of the White House on January 4, 1991.]]

Baker soon decided that Aaron David Miller and Daniel Kurtzer would be his principal aides in Middle Eastern policies. All three have been reported as leaning toward the policies of the Israeli Labor Party.

Baker was notable for making little and slow efforts towards improving the state of Israeli-Palestinian relations. When Bush was elected, he only received 29% of Jewish voters' support, and his reelection was thought to be imminent, so there was little pressure on the administration to make bold moves in diplomatic relations with Israel. Israeli leaders initially thought that Baker had a poor grasp of Middle Eastern issues – a perception exacerbated by his use of the term "Greater Israel" – and viewed Israel as a "problem for the United States" according to Moshe Arens.{{Cite book|last=Baker|first=Peter|title=The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III|publisher=Doubleday|others=Susan Glasser|year=2020|isbn=978-0-385-54055-1|edition=First|location=New York|pages=Chapter 24|oclc=1112904067}} Baker proved willing to confront Israeli officials on statements they made contrary to American interests. 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.

File:President George Bush Visits Langley Theater.jpg James Baker with U.S. president George H.W. Bush and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Robert McCormick Adams during a visit to Samuel P. Langley Theater at the National Air and Space Museum on January 15, 1992.]]

During his first eight months under the Bush administration, there were five meetings with the PLO. 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.

More tensions rose in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Amidst the growing support of Saddam Hussein in Palestinian communities, 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 Palestinians.

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.

After this landmark event, he did not work to further improve Arab-Israeli relations. The administration forced Israel to halt the development of the 6,000 planned housing units, but the 11,000 housing units already under construction were permitted to be completed and inhabited with no penalty. 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/15/world/after-the-war-diplomacy-baker-and-syrian-chief-call-time-ripe-for-peace-effort.html|title=AFTER THE WAR: DIPLOMACY; Baker and Syrian Chief Call Time Ripe for Peace Effort|website=The New York Times|date=March 15, 1991}}

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.

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.Baker, Peter, and Glasser, Susan, The Man Who Ran Washington Doubleday, 2020, at pp. 492, 505. In August, following the Democratic Convention, with Bush trailing Clinton in the polls by 24 points,Id., at p. 493, Bush announced that Baker would return to the White House as chief of staff and as head of the re-election campaign.Id., at p. 494 However, despite having run two winning campaigns for Ronald Reagan and one for Bush, Baker was unsuccessful in the second campaign for Bush, who lost to Clinton by 370 electoral votes to 168.Id., at p. 505

{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?68174-1/politics-diplomacy Booknotes interview with Baker on The Politics of Diplomacy: Revolution, War and Peace, 1989–1992, December 3, 1995], C-SPAN}}

In 1993, Baker became the honorary chair of the James A. Baker III Institute of Public Policy at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Also in 1993, the Enron Corporation hired Baker as a consultant within a month of his departure from the White House, and Enron said that Baker would have an opportunity to invest in any projects he developed.{{cite news |title=Baker and Mosbacher Are Hired by Enron |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/23/business/company-news-baker-and-mosbacher-are-hired-by-enron.html |work=The New York Times |date=February 23, 1993 |agency=Bloomberg Business News |access-date=October 14, 2019}} During his time at Enron, Baker tried to warn against the company's involvement with the Dabhol Power Station in India. Many of Baker's concerns proved correct, and the project became a key factor in the company's downfall.{{Cite book|last=Eichenwald|first=Kurt |title=Conspiracy of fools: a true story|date=2005|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=0-7679-1178-4|edition=1st |location=New York|oclc=57192973}}

Also in 1993, Baker joined Baker Botts as a senior partner, as well as the Carlyle Group (with the title of senior counsel).Vise, David A.. "Former Secretary of State Baker Joins Carlyle Group", The Washington Post, March 11, 1993.

In 1995, Baker published his memoirs of service as Secretary of State in a book entitled The Politics of Diplomacy: Revolution, War and Peace, 1989–1992 ({{ISBN|0-399-14087-5}}).

In March 1997, Baker became the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara.{{Cite news|title=U.N. ENVOY: Asking Baker to resolve dispute is good choice|date=March 20, 1997|work=Houston Chronicle|page=38}} {{subscription required}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Theofilopoulou |first=Anna |date=July 1, 2006 |title=The United Nations and Western Sahara: A Never-ending Affair |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2006/07/united-nations-and-western-sahara-never-ending-affair |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311054129/https://www.usip.org/publications/2006/07/united-nations-and-western-sahara-never-ending-affair |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 11, 2017 |publisher=United States Institute of Peace |series=Special Report 166|access-date=October 14, 2019}} 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.{{cite news|title=Baker resigns as UN mediator after seven years|url=http://www.irinnews.org/news/2004/06/14/baker-resigns-un-mediator-after-seven-years |access-date=September 26, 2017 |publisher=IRIN |date=June 14, 2004 |language=en}}

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.

In 2000, Baker served as chief legal adviser for George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential election campaign and oversaw the Florida recount. The 2008 film Recount covers the days following the controversial election. Baker was interviewed during the making of the film, and British actor Tom Wilkinson portrayed him in it.

Baker also advised George W. Bush on Iraq.[http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/Baker.htm "Baker surfaces as key adviser to Bush on Iraq"]. Insight Magazine. September 12, 2006. 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.{{Cite book|last=Chandrasekaran|first=Rajiv|url=http://archive.org/details/imperiallifeinem00chan|title=Imperial life in the emerald city: inside Iraq's green zone|date=2007|publisher=New York : Vintage Books|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-307-27883-8}} In December 2003, President George W. Bush appointed Baker as his special envoy to ask various foreign creditor nations to forgive or restructure $100 billion in international debts owed by the Iraq government which had been incurred during the tenure of Saddam Hussein.King, John. [http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/05/sprj.nilaw.baker.appointment/ "Bush appoints Baker envoy on Iraqi debt"], "CNN.com", December 3, 2003, retrieved August 11, 2009.

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. Bush later confirmed that he made such an offer to Baker but that he declined.{{Cite book|last=Bush|first=George W.|title=Decision Points|year=2010|page=92}} Bush would appoint another G. H. W. Bush administration veteran, Robert Gates, instead, after the 2006 midterm elections. Baker was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008.{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter B |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterB.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=April 14, 2011}}

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. Baker was the Republican co-chairman along with Democratic Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, to advise Congress on Iraq.Paley, Amit R. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800267.html "U.S. and Iraqi Forces Clash With Sadr Militia in South"]. Washington Post. October 9, 2006. 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.Sanger, David E. "G.O.P.'s Baker Hints Iraq Plan Needs Change". New York Times. October 9, 2006. 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'".

Baker voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election and did so again in the 2020 election.{{Cite magazine|last=Glasser|first=Susan B.|title=The Private Trump Angst of a Republican Icon|url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-private-trump-angst-of-a-republican-icon|access-date=October 29, 2020|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-us}} 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 later gave informal advice to Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and suggested the appointment of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State.{{Cite magazine|date=September 27, 2020|title=The Private Trump Angst of a Republican Icon|url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-private-trump-angst-of-a-republican-icon|access-date=November 28, 2021|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-US}}

Baker told his biographers that his preference for Trump was firm, basing it on his commitment to the Republican party and his feeling that, as they paraphrased, "it was worth it to get conservative judges, tax cuts, and deregulation."{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2020 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0-385-54055-1 |edition=First |location=New York |pages=579}} Despite his consistent intentions, he did briefly question his approach in 2019, after considering the Democratic primary candidate Joe Biden to be a possible choice. He denied his wavering, telling his biographers: "Don't say I will vote for Joe Biden," because he didn't want to abandon or hurt the Republican party. After the U.S. Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, Baker told his biographers, during a forum at the Hamilton Lugar School at Indiana University, that he did not "buy into" Trump's attacks on the results, despite his own past litigating the 2000 election on behalf of George W. Bush.{{Cite web |title=HLS Scholarship Event Hosts "The Man Who Ran Washington" for Conversation |url=https://news.iu.edu/live/news/37298-hls-scholarship-event-hosts-the-man-who-ran |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=news.iu.edu |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2021 |publisher=Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-91216-4 |edition=First Anchor Books |location=New York |pages=581}}

File:Representative Engel, Former Secretaries Baker, Rice, Former NSC Adviser Scowcroft Disembark From U.S. Air Force Jet Upon Arrival in Riyadh.jpg, Saudi Arabia, 2015]]

Baker serves on the Honorary Council of Advisers for the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce.{{Cite web|url=http://www.usacc.org/contents.php?cid=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215092757/http://www.usacc.org/contents.php?cid=2|title=Honorary Council of Advisers|archive-date=December 15, 2007}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.usacc.org/|title=USACC|website=www.usacc.org}} The Atlantic Council also lists Baker, along with other former executive branch appointees, among its Honorary Directors.{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/about/board-of-directors/|title=Board of Directors|website=Atlantic Council|language=en-US|access-date=February 12, 2020}}

Baker serves as an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project. 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.

Baker is a leader of the Climate Leadership Council, along with Henry Paulson and George P. Shultz.{{cite news |author=John Schwartz |title='A Conservative Climate Solution': Republican Group Calls for Carbon Tax |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/science/a-conservative-climate-solution-republican-group-calls-for-carbon-tax.html |work=The New York Times |date=February 7, 2017 |access-date=April 17, 2017 |quote=The group, led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, with former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Henry M. Paulson Jr., a former secretary of the Treasury, says that taxing carbon pollution produced by burning fossil fuels is "a conservative climate solution" based on free-market principles.}} 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. The group also included Martin S. Feldstein and N. Gregory Mankiw.{{cite web |title=The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends |url=https://www.clcouncil.org/media/2017/03/The-Conservative-Case-for-Carbon-Dividends.pdf |website=Climate Leadership Council |date=February 2017}}

Baker began service on the Rice University board of trustees in 1993.{{cite web|url=https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ricewrc/00129/rice-00129.html|title=Guide to the Baker Family papers, 1853-1971 MS 040|series=Texas Archival Resources Online|access-date= August 18, 2018}}

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. They married in 1953. Together they had four sons, including James Addison Baker IV (1954), a partner at Baker Botts"[https://www.bakerbotts.com/people/b/baker-james-a-iv James A. Baker, IV]," Baker Botts website. as well as Stuart McHenry Baker (1956), John Coalter Baker (1960), and Douglas Bland Baker (1961) of Baker Global Advisory.

Mary Stuart Baker died of breast cancer on February 18, 1970.{{Cite book |last=Baker and Glasser |first=Peter and Susan |title=The Man Who Ran Washington, The Life and Times of James A. Baker III |date=September 29, 2020 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |year=2020 |isbn=9781101912164 |publication-date=2020 |language=English}}

Though he goes by James A. Baker III, Baker is technically the fourth such name in his family line. Baker's grandfather removed his own "Jr." sometime in the 1870s before the birth of Baker's father.{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=The man who ran Washington: the life and times of James A. Baker III |last2=Glasser |first2=Susan |date=2020 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0-385-54055-1 |edition=First |location=New York |pages=8–9}} His firstborn son retained the ordering as James A. Baker IV.{{Cite web |title=State Bar of Texas {{!}} Find A Lawyer {{!}} James A. Baker |url=https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=217138 |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=www.texasbar.com}}

In 1973, Baker and Susan Garrett Winston, a divorcée and a close friend of Mary Stuart, were married. Winston had two sons and a daughter with her former husband. In September of 1977, she and Baker had a daughter, Mary Bonner Baker.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

Raised as a Presbyterian, Baker became an Episcopalian after his marriage to Susan and attends St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston. In 2012, he collaborated with the Andrew Doyle, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, to negotiate a compromise on the issue of same-sex marriage within the diocese.{{cite web | title=James Baker's Cold Realism | website=Providence - A Journal of Christianity & American Foreign Policy | date=2022-12-20 | url=https://providencemag.com/2022/12/james-bakers-cold-realism/ | ref={{sfnref | Providence - A Journal of Christianity & American Foreign Policy | 2022}} | access-date=2024-08-05}}

On June 15, 2002, Virginia Graeme Baker, the seven-year-old granddaughter of Baker, daughter of Nancy and James Baker IV, drowned due to suction entrapment in a spa.{{cite news|last=Dumas|first=Bob|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221044013/http://www.poolspanews.com/2003/102/102entrapment.html|archive-date=December 21, 2012|url=http://www.poolspanews.com/2003/102/102entrapment.html|title=Troubled Waters|work=Pool & Spa News|date=October 2003|quote=The victim in this case was Graeme Baker, the granddaughter of James Baker III, former secretary of state under President George Bush. }} To promote greater safety in pools and spas, Nancy Baker gave testimony to the Consumer Product Safety Commission,Chow, Shern-Min. [http://www.vac-alert.com/News/articles/StoryArchiveF/archive6.html "Former Secretary of state pushes for hot tub safety standards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003311/http://www.vac-alert.com/News/articles/StoryArchiveF/archive6.html |date=February 18, 2020 }}. Vac-Alert. June 29, 2007. and James Baker helped form an advocacy group,Press Releases: [http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=22070&folder_id=300 "Former Secretary of State James Baker speaks in support of legislation intended to prevent accidental drowning"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811080325/http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=22070&folder_id=300 |date=August 11, 2009 }}. Safe Kids Worldwide. May 2, 2006. which led to the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool And Spa Safety Act (15 USC 8001).[http://www.cpsc.gov/pssa.pdf "Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529202550/http://www.cpsc.gov/pssa.pdf |date=May 29, 2008 }}. Consumer Product Safety Commission. [http://www.vac-alert.com/documents/cpsc_staff_interpretations_tradefinal.pdf at Vac-Alert] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910004219/http://www.vac-alert.com/documents/cpsc_staff_interpretations_tradefinal.pdf |date=September 10, 2008 }}. (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document) Another granddaughter, Rosebud Baker, is a stand-up comedian.Sadie Dingfelder: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/during-lockdown-comics-rosebud-baker-and-andy-haynes-have-gotten-sick-and-engaged-plus-hosted-a-surreal-podcast/2020/05/15/d2de71a6-84a2-11ea-878a-86477a724bdb_story.html During lockdown, comics Rosebud Baker and Andy Haynes have gotten sick and engaged, plus hosted a surreal podcast]. Washington Post, May 18, 2020.

• Jefferson Awards for Public Service (1985)
• Presidential Medal of Freedom (1991)
• Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (1998){{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service}}{{cite news |title=Gen. Colin L. Powell Biography and Interview | url= https://achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/#interview|quote= Awards Council member and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA presents the Golden Plate Award to former Secretary of State James A. Baker III at the 1998 Summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.}}
• File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR.svg Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2015)

{{NoteFoot}}

{{Reflist}}

• 1995: The Politics of Diplomacy. with Thomas M. DeFrank. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. {{ISBN|9780399140877}}.
• 2006: "Work Hard, Study... And Keep Out of Politics!": Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life. with Steve Fiffer. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. {{ISBN|9780399153778}}.

• Bryce, Robert, (2004). Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate. New York: Perseus Books Group. {{ISBN|9781586481889}}.
• {{cite book |first2=Susan |last2=Glasser |first1=Peter |last1=Baker |title=The Man Who Ran Washington |isbn=978-0-385-54055-1 |year=2020 |publisher=Doubleday }}

{{sisterlinks|c=Category:James Baker|d=yes|q=yes|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no}}

• [http://archives.library.rice.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/193440 Baker, James III](Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, US)
• [http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/tm70mv18x James Addison Baker Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University]
• [http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/70795772c James A. Baker III Oral History Collection at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203745/http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/11/27/news/16726.shtml Profile in the Daily Princetonian]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080528213810/http://www.bakerbotts.com/lawyers/detail.aspx?id=a1789334-3f27-48d5-b844-211455e4beff Biography on Baker Botts LLP website]
• [http://www.bakerinstitute.org Baker Institute for Public Policy]
• {{C-SPAN|1321}}
• [http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/oralhistory/id/38 James Baker Oral History at Houston Oral History Project, November 20, 2007.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629210912/http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/oralhistory/id/38 |date=June 29, 2017 }}

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