James A. Baker III

James A. Baker III served as Secretary of State under George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1992. A Texas lawyer and political strategist, he had managed presidential campaigns and served as Ronald Reagan’s chief of staff and treasury secretary. His close relationship with Bush gave him unusual access to the president during the rapid transformation of the international system at the end of the Cold War. ¹

Baker managed diplomacy as communist governments collapsed in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union disintegrated. Negotiations over Germany’s unification sought to reconcile German sovereignty with the interests of the wartime occupying powers and the future of NATO. These questions required reassurance to European allies as well as bargaining with Soviet leaders. ^{1, 2}

After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Baker assembled a broad coalition to demand Iraqi withdrawal and support the use of force. His negotiations linked United Nations resolutions, military participation, financial support, and regional diplomacy. The coalition’s victory restored Kuwait’s government but did not resolve the wider conflict with Iraq. Baker left the department in August 1992 to help Bush’s reelection effort. He later served as a United Nations envoy for Western Sahara and cochaired the Iraq Study Group. His secretaryship centered on managing major political transitions through repeated negotiation with allies and adversaries. ¹