Baker, James (Addison), III 1930- . US
Republican politician. Under President
Reagan, he was White House Chief of Staff
1981-85 and Treasury secretary 1985-88. After
managing Bush's successful presidential
campaign 1988, Baker was appointed secretary
of state 1989. Baker, a lawyer from Houston,
Texas, entered politics 1970 as one of the
managers of his friend George Bush's
unsuccessful campaign for the Senate. He
served as undersecretary of commerce 1975-76
in the Ford administration and was deputy
manager of the 1976 and 1980 Ford and Bush
presidential campaigns. Baker joined the
Reagan administration 1981. He has been
criticized for the unscrupulousness of the
1988 Bush campaign. The most respected member
of the Bush team, he has been described as an
effective `prime minister'.