.
THE
HONORABLE GEORGE H. W. BUSH
The
Forty-first President of the United States
George H. W. Bush was elected President of the United States on November 8, 1988, sworn in on January 20, 1989, and served until January 20, 1993. During his term in office, the Cold War ended; the threat of nuclear war was drastically reduced; the Soviet Union ceased to exist, replaced by a democratic Russia; the Berlin Wall fell and Germany was reunified; Eastern Europe and the Baltic States all became free; and President Bush put together an unprecedented coalition of 32 nations to liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's aggression, thus paving the way for Israel and that country's Arab neighbors at the Madrid Peace Conference to renew their quest for peace in the Middle East.
Mr. Bush was the first sitting Vice President to ascend to the Presidency since Martin van Buren in 1837, and he was also only the second American President to serve a full term without Party control in either chamber of Congress. Nevertheless, President Bush signed into law, among other acts, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Clean Air Act, landmark civil rights legislation, and environmental legislation. He also successfully fought for and negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that was later signed into law.
Since leaving office, President Bush has written two books: A World Transformed, coauthored with General Brent Scowcroft, on foreign policy during his administration, and All The Best, a collection of letters written throughout his life. He has visited 56 foreign countries, most of the 50 states and has helped to raise millions of dollars for a variety of charitable organizations. President Bush serves on the Board of Visitors of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and is honorary chairman of the Points of Light Foundation.
On November 6, 1997, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum was opened to the public. Along with the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, the Library is located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. It is the 10th presidential library in existence.
President Bush's career in politics and public service began in 1963, when he was elected Chairman of the Harris County (TX) Republican Party. After losing his first campaign for the United States Senate in 1964, he was elected in 1966 to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas' 7th District and served two terms. Mr. Bush accepted a series of senior level appointments following a second unsuccessful try for the Senate in 1970: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (1971); Chairman of the Republican National Committee (1973); Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in China (1974); and Director of Central Intelligence (1976).
In 1980, Mr. Bush lost his first bid for the Republican Presidential nomination to Ronald Reagan, but he later accepted a spot on the national ticket and served as Vice President from 1981 to 1989.
Born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, George Bush became a decorated naval pilot who flew torpedo bombers during World War II. He then graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University in 1948 with a degree in economics and moved to Texas, where he began making his way in the oil business. President Bush has received numerous honorary degrees and, since retiring from public life, has been awarded high honors from such countries as Kuwait, the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Nicaragua, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Saudi Arabia.
President and Mrs. Bush have five children and 14 grandchildren. They have been married 56 years and reside in Houston, Texas, and Kennebunkport, Maine.
May 1, 2002
©2002 Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
P.O. Box Y
Austin, TX 78713-8925
512/471-4962
May 1 , 2002
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