The pragmatic diplomat who engineered the Cold War's final transition
In his November 29, 1989 Malta briefing memo, Baker wrote that Bush should project a "new pace and purpose" while leading as much as Gorbachev.
James Baker was a lawyer and Republican political operator who became central to American conservative politics through his long alliance with George H. W. Bush. After serving as treasury secretary on currency and international finance, he became secretary of state and helped manage the diplomacy of the Cold War's final years, German reunification, and the Gulf crisis. He did not treat Gorbachev's reforms as a matter of faith, weighing them against American interests and allied stability, yet he persuaded Bush to reach toward perestroika and translated that choice into the agenda and working arrangements of the 1989 Malta summit. His cautious realism slowed the inertia of confrontation while turning rapid change into negotiations that Washington could help manage.
Career Timeline
- 1930Born in Houston, Texas
- 1952–1954Graduated from Princeton and served as a Marine officer
- 1957–1980Practiced corporate law in Houston
- 1981–1985White House chief of staff under President Reagan
- 1985–1988U.S. secretary of the treasury; advanced the Plaza Accord and Baker Plan
- 1989–1992U.S. secretary of state; managed the Malta summit and late-Cold War diplomacy
- 1992–1993Returned as White House chief of staff in the Bush administration
- 2010년대–Advised on public policy and international affairs