Baker, Howard Henry, Jr. (1925-2014), a Republican from Tennessee, served as majority leader of the United States Senate from 1981 to 1985. He was a member of the Senate from 1967 to 1985. In 1987 and 1988, he served as President Ronald Reagan’s chief of staff. Baker was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980. Baker served as U.S. ambassador to Japan under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005, then returned to his private law practice.
Baker gained national recognition in 1973 during the hearings of the committee that investigated the Watergate scandal (see Watergate ). He was the committee’s vice chairman. Baker served as Senate minority leader from 1977 to 1981. When the Republicans took control of the Senate in 1981, he became Senate majority leader. In that position, Baker played a key role in winning passage of legislation proposed by President Reagan.
Baker was born on Nov. 15, 1925, in Huntsville, Tennessee. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1949. His election to the Senate in 1966 made him the first Republican elected from Tennessee since the 1860’s. Baker was married to Joy Dirksen, daughter of U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen, from 1951 until her death in 1993. In 1996, he married Nancy Kassebaum, a U.S. senator from 1979 to 1997. Baker died on June 26, 2014.
