Charlie Baker | |
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![]() Official portrait, 2018 | |
6th President of the NCAA | |
Assumed office March 1, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Mark Emmert |
72nd Governor of Massachusetts | |
In office January 8, 2015 – January 5, 2023 | |
Lieutenant | Karyn Polito |
Preceded by | Deval Patrick |
Succeeded by | Maura Healey |
Secretary of Administration and Finance of Massachusetts | |
In office November 1994 – September 1998 | |
Governor | Bill Weld Paul Cellucci |
Preceded by | Mark E. Robinson |
Succeeded by | Frederick Laskey |
Secretary of Health and Human Services of Massachusetts | |
In office October 1992 – November 1994 | |
Governor | Bill Weld |
Preceded by | David Forsberg |
Succeeded by | Gerald Whitburn |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles Duane Baker Jr. November 13, 1956 Elmira, New York, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Lauren Schadt (m. 1987) |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Charles Baker (father) |
Education | |
Signature | ![]() |
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Pre-governorship
Governor of Massachusetts
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Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician who is the current president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts from 2015 to 2023, and held two cabinet positions under two previous governors of Massachusetts. He also served for ten years as the CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
Baker grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, earned a BA from Harvard University in 1979,[1][2] and later obtained an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. In 1991, he became Massachusetts Undersecretary of Health and Human Services under Governor Bill Weld. In 1992, he was appointed secretary of health and human services of Massachusetts. He later served as Secretary of Administration and Finance under Weld and his successor, Paul Cellucci.
After working in government for eight years, Baker left to become CEO of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and later Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a nonprofit health benefits company. During this time he served three years as a selectman of Swampscott and considered a run for Massachusetts governor in 2006. He stepped down in July 2009 to run for governor on a platform of fiscal conservatism and cultural liberalism. He was unopposed in the Republican primary but lost the 2010 general election to Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick.
In 2014, Baker ran for governor again and narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Martha Coakley. In 2018, he was reelected handily over Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez with 67% of the vote, the largest vote share in a Massachusetts gubernatorial election since 1994.[3] Nonpartisan polls consistently found him to be among the nation's most popular governors.[4][5][6][7] In December 2021, Baker and his Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito both announced that they would not seek reelection in 2022.[8] Baker and Polito are the last Republicans to hold statewide office in Massachusetts.
On December 15, 2022, Baker was named as Mark Emmert's successor as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He assumed the role on March 1, 2023.[9][10][11]