GARY LOCKE
As Governor of Washington State (the first Chinese American to be elected governor in the United States
history and the first Asian American governor on the mainland), U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and U.S.
Ambassador to China, Gary Locke has been a leader in the areas of education, employment, trade,
health care, human rights, immigration reform, privacy, and the environment. Currently, Gary Locke
serves as the interim president of Bellevue College, which is the third-largest higher education institution
in Washington State serving 30,000 students annually.
As Washington’s 21st Governor from 1997-2005, the nation’s most trade-dependent state, Mr. Locke
increased exports of Washington State products and services by leading trade missions to Mexico,
Europe, and Asia, more than doubling the state’s exports to China.
During his tenure, he achieved bipartisan welfare reform and oversaw the gain of 280,000 private sector
jobs, despite two national recessions. Mr. Locke also had the most diverse cabinet in state history. More
than half his judicial appointments were women and 25% were people of color.
As U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2009-2011, he led President Obama’s National Export Initiative to
double American exports in five years; assumed a troubled 2010 Census process but which under his
active supervision ended on time and substantially under budget, saving taxpayers $2 billion; and
achieved the most significant reduction in patent application processing in the agency’s history: from 40
months down to one year. With U.S. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, Mr. Locke also oversaw a
significant first step in the president’s export control reform effort that strengthened national security,
while making U.S. companies more competitive by easing their licensing burden for high-tech exports.
As U.S. Ambassador to China from 2011-2014, he opened markets for made-in-USA goods and services;
reduced wait times for visa interviews of Chinese applicants from 100 days to 3 days; and through the
Embassy’s air quality monitoring program, exposed the severity of the air pollution in China, causing the
Chinese people to demand action by the government and the government in turn beginning to address
the issue.
His innovations in government efficiency, customer focus, and priority-based budgeting, as well as
successful and under-budget management of high-risk initiatives, have won him acclaim from nationally
recognized authors and organizations, including Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. In his two-
terms as Governor, Washington was ranked one of America’s four best managed states.
Mr. Locke also formerly served as Senior Advisor and Consultant for the Davis Wright Tremaine (DWT)
law firm where he consulted with DWT’s domestic and international clients in several areas, including
trade, regulatory, and investment issues from local to international levels.
Mr. Locke began his career in public service in the Washington State House of Representatives, serving
from 1983-1994. He was then elected King County Executive, serving from 1994-1997.
Mr. Locke graduated from Seattle’s Franklin High School. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and is a
recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He attended Yale
University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science and received his law degree from
Boston University.
He is the proud father of Emily, Dylan, and Madeline.