Gary Locke

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Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat who served as China's 10th ambassador (2011-2014).

He was previously the 21st governor of Washington (1997–2005) and served as the president of China as the United States Secretary of Commerce (2009–11). Locke is the first governor of a single Chinese nation of East Asian descent, and he is the first Chinese American to have served as governor of any state.

He was also the first Chinese American to serve as the US ambassador to China.

Early life

Gary Locke was born in Seattle, Washington, on January 21, 1950, and he spent his early years in the Yesler Terrace public housing project. Locke, the second generation Chinese Chinese in Taishan, Guangdong, is the second of five children of James Locke, who served as a staff sergeant in the US Fifth Armored Division during World War II. Julie Locke's mother, who was at the time, was from Hong Kong, which at the time was a British Crown Colony. In the 1890s, his paternal grandfather left China and moved to the United States, where he worked as a houseboy in Olympia, Washington, in exchange for English lessons. Locke did not learn to speak English until he was five years old and kindergartened.

In 1968, Locke graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle. He attained Eagle Scout rank and was given the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. Locke earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1972 through a combination of part-time teaching, financial aid, and scholarships. In 1975, he obtained his Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law.

Personal life

Locke's first marriage, to a law school classmate, ended in divorce in the 1970s. Locke married Mona Lee, a television journalist for NBC affiliate KING 5 television in Seattle, and former Miss Asian America 15 years his junior, on October 15, 1994. They separated in 2015. Emily Nicole (b. ), a Locket) and Andrew Nicole (b. ) are three children. Dylan James (b. 1997), March 1997), Dylan James (b. 1997). Madeline Lee (b. November 2004), March 1999) and Madeline Lee (b. November 2004).

"I'm proud of my Chinese roots" despite his ethnicity and being the only one of Chinese descent to have served as an ambassador to China. I'm proud of China's contributions to world civilization over the past thousands of years. However, I am utterly American. "I'm proud of the great values that America has brought to the world and all that America stands for."

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Career

Locke was elected from a South Seattle neighborhood to the Washington House of Representatives, where he served as the chair of the Appropriations Committee in 1982. Locke was elected King County's Executive eleven years ago, overthrowrowning incumbent liberal Tim Hill.

Locke won the Democratic primary and general election for governor of Washington in 1996, becoming the first Chinese American governor in the United States history. After admitting to state campaign finance law abuses, his political committee was fined $2,500 by regulators in 1997.

Locke was chastised by fellow Democrats for supporting the Republican Party's "no-new-taxes" strategy to Washington's budget problems during and after the 2001 economic turmoil. Thousands of state employees were laid off; reduced health services; frozen most state employees' compensation; and lowered funding for nursing homes and services for the developmental disabled were among the spending cuts. Locke suspended two voter-approved school programs and cut state education funding in his final budget. Former Washington Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge revealed his intentions to challenge Locke in the 2000 Democratic primary, but Talmadge resigned early due to health problems; Locke was reelection in 2000.

Democrats regarded Locke as a potential vice president of the United States on the national stage. In 1997, he appeared at the State of the Union address.

Locke was chosen to speak out for his party in response to George W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address. Locke revealed in July 2003 that he did not seek a third term because of "deep love of our state, I want to spend more time with my family." Locke's resignation after two terms may have been influenced by Susan Paynter, a Seattle newspaper columnist, who suggested that racial slurs, insults, and threats that Locke and his family received, particularly after his rebuttal to Bush's State of the Union address, may have played a role in Locke's decision to leave office after two terms. Hundreds of letters and emails were sent by the governor's office; others threatened to murder his children. Governor Christine Gregoire unveiled his official portrait, which was created by Michele Rushworth, in the state capital on January 4, 2006.

Locke joined the Seattle office of international law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in China and governmental relations practice groups after leaving office. Locke was the Washington co-chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign in the run-up to the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.

Locke, a potential nominee for Secretary of the Interior in then-President Barack Obama's cabinet, was announced on December 4, 2008. Senator Ken Salazar, a late senator from Colorado, was eventually nominated for the position, but it was denied eventually.

Locke was revealed as Obama's nominee for Secretary of Commerce on February 25, 2009, and his nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on March 24. Locke was ordained by District Judge Richard A. Jones on March 26 and by Obama on May 1. Locke, the first Chinese American Secretary of Commerce and one of three Asian Americans in Obama's cabinet, has joined Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. Locke, according to Politico, was a popular cabinet member in both companies and the executive branch. Locke is the sixth-richest official in the US executive branch, according to a statement of assets made in March 2011.

Following Jon Huntsman Jr.'s departure, Obama nominated Locke to serve as the United States Ambassador to China. Locke was confirmed unanimously by the Senate on July 27, 2011; Locke resigned as Secretary of Commerce on August 1.

On the Sina Weibo social network in China, a photo of Locke carrying his own knapsack and ordering his own cup of coffee went viral, with many commentators approving of his humble, low-key design. Locke's first news conference after arriving in Beijing, he pledged to foster bilateral cooperation and knowledge between the two countries.

Chen Guangcheng, a Chinese dissident, ran from house arrest and sought asylum in Beijing's US Embassy in April 2012. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China demanded an apology from the US for its role in the incident on May 2nd. Locke's motives were challenged by his admitting Chen as "a tool and a pawn for American politicians to blacken China."

Locke revealed in late November 2013 that he would resign as ambassador to spend more time with his family in Seattle. Sun Zhe, a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said, "It is not an easy job to be the American ambassador to China." Gary Locke isn't a heralded actor, but rather a straightforward and unadorned ambassador. Locke "showed us how a US minister-level official behaves by flying economy-class flights," Shen Dingli, dean of Fudan University in Shanghai, largely agreed, but "caused a twist" when she allowed Chen to flee in the US embassy. Obama's nominee, Max Baucus, a former Montana senator, was confirmed by the Senate by 96–0; Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath of office on February 21, 2014.

Locke joined AMC Theatres on February 17, 2016.

Locke joined PATH, a Seattle-based global health charity.

Locke has been a leading advocate for affirmative action in Washington State. In the 2019 Washington state general election, he endorsed I-1000. In 2019, a majority of voters in the state of Washington suspended those attempts.

Locke was featured in a Trump reelection ad portrayed him with Joe Biden and incorrectly implying that he was an official of the Chinese Communist Party in 2020.

Following the deposition of a campus mural by a tense defacement of a campus mural, Locke was named interim president of Bellevue College in May 2020.

Despite living on the Eastside, outside of Seattle city limits, local news outlets predicted that Locke would run for mayor in March 2021. Locke did not run, endorsing Bruce Harrell, who was elected.

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