He attended The King's School, Parramatta,[4] and spent time living in the U.S. while his father served as head of the Australian trade commission in New York City.

[7][8] Baird also studied at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, initially intending to enter the Anglican ministry, but while there decided to pursue a career in investment banking and later politics.

[9] He again sought, this time successfully, Liberal Party preselection for the seat of Manly and went on to defeat the sitting independent member David Barr by 3.4% at the 2007 state election.

[23][22] In October, Stoner resigned as Leader of the NSW Nationals and Deputy Premier of New South Wales and was replaced by Troy Grant.

The Sydney Morning Herald described Baird's government as "the most devout in living memory," with a concentration of powerful religious figures in its upper echelons.

"[13] On the morning of 15 December 2014, a lone gunman, Man Haron Monis, held hostage ten customers and eight employees of a Lindt chocolate café located at Martin Place, Sydney.

After replacing Barry O'Farrell as Premier in April 2014, Baird initially fared well in statewide opinion polls but his approval rating collapsed in the 2nd half of 2016.

[31] Baird had publicly advocated for the tough Sydney lockout laws[33] and on 9 February 2016 posted a Facebook response to an article published by Matt Barrie condemning the Premier's actions.

[34] Baird's response gained international attention[35] after the post received over 10,000 likes - along with more than 10,000 comments that were mostly critical of the Premier's stance on the laws.

"[42][43] Following his decision to resign, he was criticised for his failure to listen on key issues such as protests against the WestConnex, lockout laws and local government amalgamations.

In 2019, NAB executives forfeited their short-term bonuses, resulting in Baird earning the lesser total of A$1.7 million for that year.

[49][50][51] In October 2021, Baird gave evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption regarding Gladys Berejiklian's relationship with disgraced Liberal MP Daryl Maguire.

[51] Baird is a long time friend of former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott and they regularly surf together off the Northern Beaches.