Baucus, Max, 1941-

In 2014 U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Max Sieben Baucus to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the Peoples Republic of China. He served as Ambassador from February 21, 2014 until January 19, 2017. Ambassador Baucus formerly served as the senior United States Senator from Montana. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1978 to 2014 and was Montana’s longest serving U.S. Senator as well as the third longest tenure among those serving in the U.S. Senate.

While in the Senate, Ambassador Baucus was Chairman and Ranking Member of the powerful Senate Committee on Finance. While Chairman, he was the chief architect of the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) which was signed by President Barack Obama into law March 23, 2009.

Ambassador Baucus has extensive experience in international trade. As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, he led the passage and enactment of the Free Trade Agreements with 11 countries: Australia, Bahrain, Jordan, Chile, Colombia, Morocco, Oman, Panama, Peru, Singapore and South Korea. He also was deeply involved in orchestrating the congressional approval of permanent normal trade relations with China in 2000 and in facilitating China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Ambassador Baucus also served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Joint Committee on Taxation and as a member of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry where he led in the reauthorization of numerous Farm Bills. He was additionally selected as a member of the Senate Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Super Committee) following the financial crisis of 2008. Ambassador Baucus was also a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and chaired its Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure where he managed numerous infrastructure legislative acts and Highway Bills.

Before his election to the U.S. Senate, Ambassador Baucus represented Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1978 and represented Missoula, Montana in the Montana House of Representatives from 1973 to 1974.

Ambassador Baucus earned a bachelor’s and law degree from Stanford University.

Ambassador Baucus currently lives in Bozeman, Montana, where he and his wife, Melodee Hanes, have formed a consulting firm, Baucus Group LLC. Ambassador Baucus provides consulting services to American and Chinese businesses and serves on the Board of Directors of Ingram Micro and the Board of Advisors to Alibaba Group. He additionally serves on the External Advisory Board to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.