George Herbert Walker Bush
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George H. W. Bush
41st President of the United States
In office: January 20, 1989 - January 20, 1993
Vice President: Dan Quayle
Preceded by: Ronald Reagan
Succeeded by: Bill Clinton
43rd Vice President of the United States
In office: January 20, 1981 - January 20, 1989
President: Ronald Reagan
Preceded by: Walter Mondale
Succeeded by: Dan Quayle
Director of Central Intelligence
In office: January 30, 1976 - January 20, 1977
President: Gerald Ford
Preceded by: William Colby
Succeeded by: Stansfield Turner
Chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China
In office: September 26, 1974 - December 7, 1975
President: Gerald Ford
Preceded by: David Bruce
Succeeded by: Thomas Gates
Chairman of the Republican National Committee
In office: January 19, 1973 - September 16, 1974
Preceded by: Bob Dole
Succeeded by: Mary Smith
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
In office: March 1, 1971 - January 18, 1973
President: Richard Nixon
Preceded by: Charles Yost
Succeeded by: John Scali
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 7th district
In office: January 3, 1967 - January 3, 1971
Preceded by: John Dowdy
Succeeded by: William Archer
Personal details:
Born: George Herbert Walker Bush June 12, 1924 Milton, Massachusetts
Political party: Republican
Spouse: Barbara Pierce Bush (1945Ðpresent)
Children: George, Pauline (Robin). John (Jeb), Neil, Marvin, & Dorothy
Residence: Houston, Texas
Alma mater: Yale University
Religion: Episcopal
Military service
Allegiance: United States of America
Service/Branch: United States Navy
Years of service: 1942 - 1945
Rank: Lieutenant (junior grade)
Unit: Fast Carrier Task Force
Battles/Wars: World War II
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal (3), Presidential Unit Citation
George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States (1989 - 1993). A Republican, he had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States (1981 - 1989), a Congressman, an Ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence. He is the oldest former President and Vice President, and the last former President who is a veteran of World War II. Bush is often referred to as ''George H. W. Bush'', ''Bush 41'', ''Bush the Elder'', and ''George Bush, Sr.'' to distinguish him from his son, former President George W. Bush.
Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Bush postponed college, enlisted in the U.S. Navy on his 18th birthday, and became the youngest aviator in the U.S. Navy at the time. He served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. Graduating in 1948, he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.
He became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company, serving as a member of the House of Representatives, among other positions. He failed to win the Republican nomination for President in 1980, but was chosen by party nominee Ronald Reagan to be his running mate, and the two were elected. During his tenure, Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting the ''War on Drugs''.
In 1988, Bush ran a successful campaign to succeed Reagan as President, defeating Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis. Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency: military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later. Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise and after a struggle with Congress, signed an increase in taxes that Congress had passed. In the wake of a weak recovery from an economic recession, along with continuing budget deficits, he lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton. Bush left office in 1993. His presidential library was dedicated in 1997, and he has been active, along with President Clinton, in various humanitarian activities. Bush's eldest son, George W. Bush, later served as the 46th Governor of Texas (1995Ð2000) and as the 43rd President of the United States (2001 - 2009), becoming one of only two presidents, the other being John Quincy Adams, to be the son of a former president. His second son, Jeb Bush, served as the 43rd Governor of Florida (1999 - 2007).
