Biographical Information

Born: 1932, Topeka, Kansas

University of Kansas, B.A. 1954
University of Michigan, M.A. 1956

Four children, seven grandchildren

United States Senator, Kansas, 1979-1997
Chairman of Subcommittee on African Affairs
Chairman of Subcommittee on Aviation
Chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Committee

Senator Kassebaum married former United States Majority Leader and White House Chief of Staff, Howard Baker, in December of 1996.

After leaving the Senate and prior to coming to Japan, Senator Kassebaum Baker served on the Board of Trustees for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation. She was Chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the George C. Marshall Foundation and the American-Turkish Council. Senator Kassebaum was also on the Board of Directors of the National Committee on US-China Relations, the African Law Institute Council-ABA, the International Medical Corps and Handgun Control.