![Mikhail Gorbachev and James A. Baker, IIII](/sites/default/files/styles/16_9_small_564x317/public/2022-08/Baker%2BGorbachev.jpg?h=f71162cb&itok=RLiBhfyg)
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Author(s)
James A. Baker, III
Honorary Chair, Baker Institute for Public PolicyStatement from Secretary Baker on the Death of Mikhail Gorbachev
“History will remember Mikhail Gorbachev as a giant who steered his great nation toward democracy. He played the critical role in a peaceful conclusion of the Cold War by his decision against using force to hold the empire together. I found him to be an honest broker and could count on his word despite domestic pressure in Moscow. The free world misses him greatly.”
— James A. Baker, III
61st U.S. Secretary of State
Read Secretary Baker's guest essay, "Why Gorbachev Mattered," in the Sept. 6, 2022, New York Times.
![Gorbachev receives prize for distinguished public service](https://www.bakerinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/Event-3rdAnnualConf%2BGorbachev-101597-088.jpg)
![Gorbachev (with interpreter) addresses the Baker Institute audience](https://www.bakerinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/Event-3rdAnnualConf%2BGorbachev-101597-124.jpg)
![The Rice Board of Governors and Rice President Malcolm Gillis with Gorbachev, Baker and Kissinger](https://www.bakerinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/Event-3rdAnnualConf%2BGorbachev-101597-145.jpg)