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Capping a distinguished public-service career as senator, presidential advisor and ambassador, Howard H. Baker, Jr. returned in February 2005 to Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, the law firm his grandfather founded and where he formerly practiced with his father, the late U.S. Rep. Howard H. Baker. As Senior Counsel to the Firm, Senator Baker focuses his practice on public policy and international matters. In 2005, he joined Citigroup’s International Advisory Committee as Senior Advisor.
Senator Baker's return followed his service as 26th U.S. Ambassador to Japan, a position to which President George W. Bush appointed him in 2001. The appointment was yet another milestone in a public-service career that began in 1966, when Senator Baker became the first Republican popularly elected to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee.
Senator Baker gained national recognition in 1973 as Vice Chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee. Three years later, he was keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention and was a 1980 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. He concluded his Senate career in 1985 after two terms as Minority Leader (1977 to 1981) and two terms as Majority Leader (1981 to 1985). He was President Reagan's Chief of Staff from February 1987 to July 1988.
A delegate to the United Nations in 1976, Senator Baker has extensive foreign policy experience. He served on the President's Foreign Intelligence Board from 1985 to 1987 and from 1988 to 1990 and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs. He serves on the board of the Forum of International Policy and is an International Counselor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Among his many awards are the 1984 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, and the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Performed by an Elected or Appointed Official, which he received in 1982. An accomplished photographer, Senator Baker received The American Society of Photographers' International Award in 1993 and was elected into the Photo Marketing Association's Hall of Fame in 1994. He has received honorary degrees from such institutions as Yale University, Dartmouth College, Georgetown University, Bradley University, Pepperdine University and Centre College.
Senator Baker is the author of four books: No Margin for Error (1980); Howard Baker's Washington (1982); Big South Fork Country (1993) and Scott's Gulf (2000). | 