Reagan-Bush era focus of May 7 book talk at Rice’s Baker Institute

Chase Untermeyer, a former United States ambassador to Qatar and senior White House aide, will discuss his new book, “When Things Went Right: The Dawn of the Reagan-Bush Administration,” at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy May 7.

Chase Untermeyer, left, will discuss his new book, "When Things Went Right: The Dawn of the Reagan-Bush Era."

The talk is free and open to the public and will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Baker Hall’s Kelly International Conference Facility. A reception and book signing will follow.

In “When Things Went Right,” Untermeyer paints a colorful and insightful portrait of Washington, D.C., at the beginning of the Reagan-Bush era, according to event organizers. Untermeyer was a Texas state legislator when he was called to national service by his friend and mentor George H.W. Bush after the 1980 presidential election. During his years in the White House, he saw firsthand how the Reagan administration grappled with the major national and international challenges it faced, and how Bush, Reagan and their top associates began asserting conservative principles on domestic and foreign affairs, organizers said.

Untermeyer began his service in Washington in January 1981 as executive assistant to then-Vice President Bush. Subsequently he was an assistant secretary of the Navy, a senior White House aide to President George H.W. Bush and director of the Voice of America. He later served as U.S. ambassador to Qatar. Now an international business consultant, he lives in Houston.

To register and for more information, go to http://bakerinstitute.org/events/1646. A live webcast will be available at http://bakerinstitute.org/webcasts.