Former Secretary of State James Baker will speak at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The event is open to the public; seating is on a first-come basis. Baker also will address members of the College's Res Publica Society at a luncheon in Los Angeles.
Baker served as the nation's 61st secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, during which he traveled to 90 nations, addressing challenges and opportunities in the post-Cold War era. His career in public service began in 1975 as undersecretary of commerce to President Gerald Ford. From 1985-1988, he served as the 67th secretary of the treasury under President Ronald Reagan, and finished his days in public service as White House Chief of Staff and senior counselor to former President Bush, from August 1992 to January 1993. During that period, Baker was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has since received many other awards for distinguished public service, including Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson Award, Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government Award, The Hans J. Morgenthau Award, and the Department of State's Distinguished Service Award.
In 1995 Baker published The Politics of Diplomacy, outlining his reflections on revolution, war, and peace. He followed his book with several years of service as personal envoy of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, addressing conflict over Western Sahara. In 2003, he was appointed special presidential envoy for President George W. Bush, on the issue of Iraqi debt.
Baker currently is a senior partner in the law firm of Baker Botts, serves as a senior counselor to the Washington, D.C., merchant banking firm The Carlyle Group, and is honorary chairman of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. He also serves on the board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Baker graduated from Princeton University and served as a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps for two years before entering the University of Texas School of Law at Austin. After receiving his J.D. with honors, he practiced law with the Houston firm of Andrews and Kurth from 1957 to 1975.
Baker's visit is sponsored The Pacesetters Speakers Fund. The Pacesetters Fellowship Program is the culmination of the hard work and dedication of alumni from the classes of 1948, 1949, and 1950the Pacesetters. The program attracts leaders in business, academia, and public affairs to Claremont McKenna College for one-on-one interactions with students. Baker is the sixth Pacesetters Fellow.