James Baker; 1st Black U.S. Diplomat to S. Africa

James Estes Baker, 66, who became the first black American diplomat posted in South Africa during apartheid. A native of Suffolk, Va., Baker graduated from Haverford College and earned a master’s degree at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He joined the diplomatic corps in 1960 after serving two years in the Army. In 1973, the 37-year-old Baker was appointed economic and commercial officer at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria. He served two years in that post, and left the foreign service in 1980 to direct economic and emergency relief programs at the United Nations. He stayed with the U.N. until 1995 and later taught courses on diplomacy and disaster relief at Long Island University. On April 16 in New York of lung disease.