Howard Baker

Howard Henry Baker Jr. (November 15, 1925 – June 26, 2014) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a Republican US Senator from Tennessee, Senate Minority Leader, and then Senate Majority Leader. Known in Washington, D.C., as the "Great Conciliator," Baker was often regarded as one of the most successful senators in terms of brokering compromises, enacting legislation, and maintaining civility. A moderate conservative, he was also respected by his Democratic colleagues.Baker sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 but dropped out after the first set of primaries. From 1987 to 1988, he served as White House Chief of Staff for President Ronald Reagan. From 2001 to 2005, he was the United States Ambassador to Japan. 2Early life Baker was born in Huntsville, Tennessee, to Dora Ann née Ladd and Howard Baker Sr.His father served as a Republican member of the US House of Representatives from 1951 to 1964, representing a traditionally-Republican district in East Tennessee. Baker attended The McCallie School in Chattanooga, and after graduating, he attended Tulane University in New Orleans. Baker was an alumnus of the Alpha Sigma Chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. During World War II, he trained at a U.S. Navy facility on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, in the V-12 Navy College Training Progra