Baker, Howard Henry, Jr.

Baker, Howard Henry, Jr., 1925–, U.S. politician and public official, b. Huntsville, Tenn. As a moderate Republican senator (1966–87) from Tennessee, he gained (1973) national attention as a member of the Senate committee investigating the Watergate affair. He became (1977) Senate minority leader and served (1981–85) as Senate majority leader after the Republican victory in the 1980 elections. He also was White House chief of staff (1987–88) under President Ronald Reagan. In 1996 he married Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum (see Kassebaum-Baker, Nancy Landon). Baker served as U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2001 to 2005.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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