Daniel Brooks Baer (born January 6, 1977) is an American politician and former diplomat from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Baer served in the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, first as a

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs ...

for the

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. DRL's resp ...

from 2009 to 2013, and then as

United States Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

from 2013 to 2017. In 2018, Governor

John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. (; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 20 ...

appointed Baer as the executive director of the

Colorado Department of Higher Education The Colorado Department of Higher Education (DHE) is the principal department of the Colorado state government responsible for implementing the policies of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE).C.R.S. § 23-1-101 As the policy and ad ...

Early life and education

Baer is a native of

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

with a degree in social studies and African American studies and was then a

Marshall Scholar The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he earned master's and doctoral degrees in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

.Daniel Brooks Baer
U.S. Department of State Archive.

Consulting, academic, and diplomatic career

From 2004 to 2007, Baer worked at the

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by rev ...

as project leader. He was then an Assistant Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at the

McDonough School of Business The Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, commonly shorted to the McDonough School of Business and abbreviated as the MSB, is the business school of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1957, it grants both undergraduate and ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. He then joined the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, where he was

for the

from November 23, 2009 to September 10, 2013. From 2013 to 2017, Baer was the

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...

for the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

Colorado politics

In July 2017, Baer announced that he was running in the Democratic primary for the U.S. House seat for

Colorado's 7th congressional district Colorado's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Formerly located only in the northeast part of the state, the district now encompasses the western parts of the Denver metropolitan area, includin ...

, held by Democrat

Ed Perlmutter Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in the northern and western suburbs of the Denver metropolitan area ...

, who initially did not file to run for re-election in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. The district covers portions of

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

and Adams counties. Baer withdrew from the race after Perlmutter announced that he would seek reelection. From 2017 to 2018, Baer was a diplomat-in-residence at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

's Josef Korbel School of International Affairs. In May 2018 Baer was appointed by Governor John Hickenlooper to serve as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. In April 2019, Baer announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat held by

Cory Gardner Cory Scott Gardner (born August 22, 1974) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States senator from Colorado from 2015 to 2021. A Republican, he was the U.S. representative for Colorado's 4th congressional distr ...

in the 2020 election. Baer entered the primary with a field of nine Democratic candidates seeking the party's nomination, running against

John F. Walsh John F. Walsh (born May 28, 1961) is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado from 2010 to 2016. Walsh was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 14, 2010, and sworn in on August 16, 2010. ...

Andrew Romanoff Harlan Andrew Romanoff (born August 24, 1966) is an American politician, attorney, and academic. A Democrat, he was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009, serving as Speaker from 2005 to 2009. He was a candidate for ...

, Mike Johnston, Ellen Burnes,

Alice Madden Alice Donnelly Madden (born December 9, 1958) is a politician from Colorado and member of the Democratic party. From 2001 to 2009, she served in the Colorado House of Representatives, representing the 10th district around Boulder. From 2005 to 200 ...

, and others. In September 2019, Baer dropped out of the primary and endorsed John Hickenlooper, who entered the race after ending his 2020 U.S. presidential bid.

Personal life

Baer is openly gay; in August 2014, he married his longtime partner Brian Walsh.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baer, Dan 1977 births Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe McDonough School of Business faculty Harvard College alumni Gay diplomats Living people LGBT ambassadors of the United States LGBT people from Colorado Marshall Scholars Colorado Democrats Candidates in the 2020 United States Senate elections 21st-century LGBT people

Early life and education

Consulting, academic, and diplomatic career

Colorado politics

Personal life

See also

References

External links