Gary Locke

Gary Locke
Official portrait, 2009
President of Bellevue College
Acting
In office
June 15, 2020 – July 1, 2023
Preceded byJerry Weber
Succeeded byDavid May
10th United States Ambassador to China
In office
August 16, 2011 – March 1, 2014
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJon Huntsman Jr.
Succeeded byMax Baucus
36th United States Secretary of Commerce
In office
March 26, 2009 – August 1, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
DeputyDennis Hightower
Rebecca Blank (acting)
Preceded byCarlos Gutierrez
Succeeded byJohn Bryson
21st Governor of Washington
In office
January 15, 1997 – January 12, 2005
LieutenantBrad Owen
Preceded byMike Lowry
Succeeded byChristine Gregoire
5th King County Executive
In office
January 3, 1994 – January 15, 1997
Preceded byTim Hill
Succeeded byRon Sims
Member of the Washington House of Representatives
from the 37th district
In office
January 10, 1983 – January 3, 1994
Preceded byPeggy Maxie
Succeeded byVivian Caver
Personal details
Born
Gary Faye Locke

(1950-01-21) January 21, 1950 (age 74)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mona Lee
(m. 1994; div. 2015)
Children3
EducationYale University (BA)
Boston University (JD)
Gary Locke
Traditional Chinese駱家輝
Simplified Chinese骆家辉
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLuò Jiāhuī
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationLok Gāfāi
JyutpingLok3 Gaa1 fai1

Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat from the state of Washington. Locke served as the 21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first Chinese-American governor as well as the first Asian American governor in the continental U.S. During the Obama administration, Locke served as Secretary of Commerce from 2009 to 2011, and as Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2014, the first Chinese American to serve in the role.[1]

First elected to the Washington House of Representatives in 1982, Locke went on to become King County executive in 1993 before being elected governor in the 1996 election. A former prosecutor by profession, Locke staked out a reputation as a moderate Democrat during his tenure.[2][3] Reelected in the 2000 gubernatorial election, Locke was chosen by national Democrats to give the party's response to president George W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.[4] Locke declined to run for reelection in 2004.[5]

From June 2020 until July 2023, Locke served as interim president of Bellevue College, the largest of the institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system.[6]

  1. ^ Gilbert Cruz (February 25, 2009). "Commerce Secretary: Gary Locke". Time. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  2. ^ Liu, Eric (August 24, 1997). "Locke Step". Washington Post. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  3. ^ Egan, Timothy (October 22, 1996). "Battle in Washington Brings Soul-Searching". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Egan, Timothy (January 27, 2003). "Democrats Turn to Governor for Their State of the Union Response". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  5. ^ "The Wanted: Who Might Fill a Kerry Cabinet". Roll Call. July 23, 2004. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference BCNamed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).