Question: What Houston-born political strategist and diplomat is the oldest living former U.S. Secretary of State?
Answer: James Baker. Born in 1930, he attended Princeton University and the University of Texas School of Law before working as an attorney in Houston, where he befriended future president George H. W. Bush while playing tennis. Baker was appointed Under Secretary of Commerce at Bush’s recommendation when Gerald Ford became president, and he became Ford’s campaign chairman after the 1976 GOP convention, where he helped Ford defeat Ronald Reagan’s challenge for the nomination.
Despite this history, Baker was appointed Reagan’s chief of staff when he became president. He subsequently served as Secretary of the Treasury during Reagan’s second term and as Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff under Bush. He later managed George W. Bush’s legal team in Florida during the presidential election recount in 2000.
