Baucus, Max Sieben (1941-…), a Democrat from Montana, was a member of the United States Senate from 1978 to 2014. From 2014 to 2017, Baucus served as U.S. ambassador to China.
Baucus was born on Dec. 11, 1941, in Helena, Montana, into a wealthy ranching family. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University in 1964 and a law degree from Stanford in 1967. He worked as a lawyer for the Civil Aeronautics Board in 1967 and 1968 and for the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1968 to 1971. He then returned to Montana to practice law.
Baucus served in the Montana state House of Representatives in 1973 and 1974. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974.
In November 1978, Baucus was elected to his first term in the U.S. Senate. In December 1978, Montana Governor Thomas L. Judge appointed Baucus to the Senate to finish the term of Senator Paul Hatfield, who had resigned. Hatfield’s term ended in January 1979, and Baucus then began to serve his first elected six-year term. He was reelected every six years through 2008.
As a senator, Baucus was a strong supporter of expanding international trade agreements. He also worked to protect the interests of ranchers and miners in his home state. He served on the Senate’s Finance, Agriculture, and Environment and Public Works committees. He was one of the chief authors of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the major health insurance reform law passed by Congress in 2010.
In late 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Baucus to be U.S. ambassador to China. Baucus resigned his Senate seat once the Senate confirmed the nomination in February 2014. He served in the position until January 2017.
