Editing Max Baucus (section)

{{Short description|American politician (born 1941)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = Max Baucus
| image        = Portrait of Ambassador Max Baucus.jpg
| caption      = Official portrait, 2014
| office       = 11th [[United States Ambassador to China]]
| president    = [[Barack Obama]]
| term_start   = March 20, 2014
| term_end     = January 16, 2017
| predecessor  = [[Gary Locke]]
| successor    = [[Terry Branstad]]
| jr/sr1       = United States Senator
| state1       = [[Montana]]
| term_start1  = December 15, 1978
| term_end1    = February 6, 2014
| predecessor1 = [[Paul G. Hatfield|Paul Hatfield]]
| successor1   = [[John Walsh (Montana politician)|John Walsh]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Senate positions|titlestyle=border: 1px dashed lightgrey;}}
{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office2      = Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Senate Finance Committee]]
| term_start2  = January 4, 2007
| term_end2    = February 6, 2014
| predecessor2 = [[Chuck Grassley]]
| successor2   = [[Ron Wyden]]
| term_start3  = June 6, 2001
| term_end3    = January 3, 2003
| predecessor3 = Chuck Grassley
| successor3   = Chuck Grassley
| term_start4  = January 3, 2001
| term_end4    = January 20, 2001
| predecessor4 = [[William Roth]]
| successor4   = Chuck Grassley
| office5      = Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Senate Environment Committee]]
| term_start5  = January 3, 1993
| term_end5    = January 3, 1995
| predecessor5 = [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]]
| successor5   = [[John Chafee]]
}}
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| state6       = [[Montana]]
| district6    = {{ushr|MT|1|1st}}
| term_start6  = January 3, 1975
| term_end6    = December 14, 1978
| predecessor6 = [[Richard G. Shoup|Richard Shoup]]
| successor6   = [[John Patrick Williams|Pat Williams]]
| state_house7 = Montana
| district7    = 18th
| term_start7  = January 1973
| term_end7    = January 1975
| predecessor7 = 
| successor7   = 
| birth_name   = Maxwell Sieben Enke
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1941|12|11}}
| birth_place  = [[Helena, Montana]], U.S.
| death_date   = 
| death_place  = 
| party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Ann Geracimos|1975|1982|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Wanda Minge|1984|2009|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Melodee Hanes|2011}}
}}
| children     = 1
| education    = [[Stanford University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| module       = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Sen. Max Baucus on the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.ogg|title=Max Baucus's voice|type=speech|description=Baucus, as chair of the [[Senate Finance Committee]], speaks on [[Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008|Medicare reform legislation]]<br/>Recorded July 9, 2008}}
}}

'''Maxwell Sieben Baucus''' ({{né}} '''Enke'''; born December 11, 1941) is an American politician who served as a [[List of former United States senators|United States senator]] from [[Montana]] from 1978 to 2014. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the longest-serving U.S. senator in [[History of Montana|Montana history]]. President [[Barack Obama]] later appointed Baucus to replace [[Gary Locke]] as the 11th [[United States Ambassador to China|U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China]], a position he held from 2014 until 2017.<ref name=sixth>{{cite news|date=2009-01-06|work=Max Baucus, U.S. Senator from Montana|title=BAUCUS' HISTORIC 6th TERM BEGINS: Sworn In, Montana's Senator Outlines Key Priorities|url=http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=31|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304032301/http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=31|archive-date=2010-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-fires-us-ambassadors-no-replacements-a7538256.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-fires-us-ambassadors-no-replacements-a7538256.html |archive-date=2022-05-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= Donald Trump has fired all foreign US ambassadors with nobody to replace them |newspaper=The Independent |first= Rachel |last= Revesz |date= January 20, 2017 |access-date= January 20, 2017}}</ref>

As the Chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Senate Committee on Finance]], Baucus played an influential role in the debate over [[health care reform in the United States]].<ref name="cjr.org">Trudy Lieberman (November 4, 2008 ). [https://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/baucus_watch.php Baucus Watch: A key senator on health reform holds a listening session], Columbia Journalism Review</ref> He was also chairman of the [[United States Congress Joint Committee on Taxation|Joint Committee on Taxation]], a member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry|Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry]] and the [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works]], and was chairman of the [[United States Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure|Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure]]. Before his election to the Senate, Baucus was a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1975 to 1978, representing [[Montana's 1st congressional district]]. He previously served in the [[Montana House of Representatives]] from 1973 to 1974. His career included charges of conflicts of interest due to his ties to the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries, and his nomination of his girlfriend to be a US Attorney.