George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, MassachusettsMassachusettsMassachusetts (officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States; its capital and largest city is Boston. One of the original 13 states, it ratified the U.S. Constitution on February 6, 1788, the sixth state to do so. Its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 7,029,917.Open the full entry, to Prescott Sheldon Bush, an investment banker and later U.S. senator from ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a U.S. state in the New England region. Its capital is Hartford and its largest city is Bridgeport (2010 census). It entered the Union on January 9, 1788, as the 5th state, and had a population of 3,605,944 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry, and Dorothy Walker Bush.⁠[1]

As a boy he moved with his family to Greenwich, Connecticut. The family was wealthy, but his parents taught their children modesty and public service; Prescott Bush served as a Republican U.S. senator from 1952 to 1963.⁠[2]

As a teenager Bush left home for Phillips Academy Andover, a Massachusetts boarding school, where he captained the baseball and soccer teams and was senior class president. He graduated on his eighteenth birthday in 1942 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy the same day.⁠[2]

Bush became a pilot in July 1943, the youngest in the Navy, and flew torpedo bombers in the Pacific.⁠[2]

On September 2, 1944, he was shot down on a mission over Chichi Jima; his two crewmen, William “Ted” White and John Delaney, were lost, and he was rescued by a U.S. submarine. He was honorably discharged in September 1945 as a lieutenant junior grade, having logged 1,228 flight hours, 126 carrier landings and 58 combat missions, and he received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with two gold stars.⁠[3]

After his discharge Bush enrolled at Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Its predecessor, the Collegiate School, received a charter in 1701. Trustees chose New Haven in 1716; the institution became Yale College in 1718 and Yale University in 1887. Yale provides undergraduate, graduate and professional education and has 14 undergraduate residential colleges. As of October 2026, its president was Maurie McInnis, who took office in July 2024. In 2026, Yale expanded aid for incoming undergraduates and celebrated its 325th anniversary.Open the full entry along with many other World War II veterans and graduated through an accelerated program in 1948. He captained the Yale baseball team and belonged to the secret society Skull and Bones.⁠[2]

He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in economics; while at Yale he also helped lead an annual charity drive for the United Negro College Fund.⁠[3]

After graduating in 1948 Bush moved his family to Odessa, TexasTexasTexas is a U.S. state in the south-central United States, with its capital at Austin and its largest city Houston. It was admitted to the Union on December 29, 1845, as the 28th state, and the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) counted 29,145,505 residents.Open the full entry, and worked as an equipment clerk for an oil company; after a short time in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a U.S. state on the Pacific coast; its capital is Sacramento and its largest city is Los Angeles. California was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state. Its population at the 2020 Census (April 1, 2020) was 39,538,223, the largest of any state.Open the full entry the family returned in 1950 to Midland, Texas, where he became a salesman for Dresser Industries.⁠[2]

He cofounded the Bush-Overbey Oil Development Company (1951), Zapata Petroleum Corporation (1953) and Zapata Off-Shore Company (1954).⁠[1]

In 1954 he became president of Zapata Off-Shore Company, the Zapata Petroleum subsidiary that made offshore drilling equipment, and later moved the company and his family to Houston.⁠[2]

In 1953 he helped establish the YMCA in Midland and chaired its founding board.⁠[3]

In February 1963 Bush was elected chairman of the Harris County, Texas, Republican Party.⁠[3]

In 1964 he ran for the U.S. Senate against the incumbent Democrat Ralph Yarborough; facing “carpetbagger” charges as a Northerner, he lost by 1,134,337 votes to 1,463,958. That November Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) was an American politician who served Texas as a U.S. representative and senator and led the Senate Democrats, became vice president in 1961 and succeeded to the presidency on the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, serving as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. His administration enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other “Great Society” legislation while expanding the U.S. military commitment in the Vietnam War.Open the full entry won the presidency.⁠[2]

In 1966 Bush ran as a moderate Republican for the U.S. House seat of Houston’s Seventh District in Texas and won with more than 50 percent of the vote; he was reelected in 1968. As a freshman he won a seat on the Ways and Means Committee, which was rare.⁠[2]

He supported the Vietnam War and parts of Johnson’s Great Society, including the Civil Rights Bill of 1968 outlawing discrimination in housing, a vote the Miller Center’s essay calls courageous for a Texas congressman.⁠[2]

In 1970 Bush gave up his House seat to run for the Senate; Yarborough lost the Democratic primary, and Bush lost again, this time to the conservative Democrat Lloyd Bentsen.⁠[2][1]

In December 1970 Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Nixon (1913–1994) was an American politician who represented California in the U.S. House and Senate, served as vice president from 1953 to 1961 and was the 37th president of the United States from 1969 to 1974. His administration opened relations with China, signed strategic arms limitation agreements with the Soviet Union and ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War; he resigned over the Watergate scandal on August 9, 1974, the only U.S. president to do so.Open the full entry nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; critics cited his lack of foreign policy experience, but the Senate confirmed him. He was outside Nixon’s inner circle but built many useful contacts.⁠[2]

He held the post from 1971 to 1973.⁠[3]

In 1973 Nixon moved Bush from the UN to chair the Republican National Committee, valuing his reputation for integrity. Bush strongly defended Nixon during Watergate until the White House tapes were released, after which he let Nixon know that he had lost Republican support. Nixon resigned in August 1974.⁠[2]

After Gerald FordGerald FordGerald Ford (1913–2006) was an American politician who represented Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1973 and became House minority leader in 1965. In 1973 he became the first vice president appointed under the 25th Amendment, and after Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 he served as the 38th president of the United States until 1977.Open the full entry became president he named Bush chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China, rather than ambassador, since full diplomatic relations did not yet exist.⁠[2]

He held the post from 1974 to 1976.⁠[3]

In 1975 Ford asked Bush to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, which needed reform and better morale; he served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1976 to 1977.⁠[2][3]

After Jimmy CarterJimmy CarterJimmy Carter (1924–2024) was an American politician and Democrat who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. His administration brokered the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, signed the Panama Canal treaties and established relations with the People’s Republic of China, but he lost his reelection bid amid the energy crisis, inflation and the Iran hostage crisis; after leaving office he founded The Carter Center to work on mediation, election observation and disease control, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.Open the full entry defeated Ford in 1976 he declined to keep Bush, who resigned when Carter took office in 1977 and returned to Houston.⁠[1][2]

Bush announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on May 1, 1979. Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Reagan (1911–2004) was an American politician and actor who worked as a radio sports announcer and film actor before serving as governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989.Open the full entry, the former governor of California, quickly became the conservatives’ frontrunner; other candidates included Bob Dole, John Anderson, Howard Baker, Philip Crane and John Connally.⁠[2]

Bush surprised observers by winning the IowaIowaIowa is a state in the Midwestern United States; its capital and largest city is Des Moines. It was admitted to the Union on December 28, 1846, as the 29th state, and its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 3,190,369.Open the full entry caucus and called Reagan’s plan of tax cuts, higher military spending and a balanced budget “voodoo economics.” Before a debate in Nashua, New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by Quebec, Canada, to the north, Vermont across the Connecticut River to the west, Massachusetts to the south, and Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east; its capital is Concord. One of the original 13 colonies, it became the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on June 21, 1788, and its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 1,377,529.Open the full entry, Reagan’s campaign invited the other candidates without telling Bush, and when the moderator cut off Reagan’s microphone Reagan said, “I paid for this microphone!” Bush lost New Hampshire and could not stop Reagan from winning the nomination.⁠[2]

Reagan briefly considered a “co-presidency” with Ford but chose Bush as his running mate, partly to unite the party’s moderate wing; some criticized Bush for shifting his positions on abortion and the economy to align with Reagan.⁠[2]

The Reagan-Bush ticket defeated President Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale, winning about 51 percent of the popular vote and 489 electoral votes to 49.⁠[2]

Bush served as the 43rd vice president from 1981 to 1989. He managed federal deregulation and anti-drug programs, led the administration’s effort to combat terrorism and helped manage negotiations with NATO allies that led to the deployment of Pershing II missiles in West Germany. After the assassination attempt on Reagan on March 30, 1981, he flew back to Washington and declined to helicopter directly to the White House.⁠[3]

He and Reagan grew genuinely fond of each other and met weekly for lunch; he traveled widely, represented the administration abroad and built international contacts. He was reelected with Reagan in 1984.⁠[2][1]

When the Iran-Contra affair broke in November 1986, Bush faced intense speculation about whether he had known of the plan and said he had been “out of the loop.” The Miller Center’s essay states that most sources believe he neither helped design the policy nor knew how it was carried out, though some questions remain.⁠[2]

Bush announced his candidacy on October 13, 1987. He finished third in Iowa behind Robert Dole and Pat Robertson, then won the New Hampshire primary and dominated the Super Tuesday contests. At the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in August 1988 he pledged “a kinder and gentler nation” and promised, “Read my lips: no new taxes.”⁠[4]

He chose Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate against the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, and his running mate, Bentsen. Bush and Quayle won with 53 percent of the popular vote and 426 electoral votes, but Democrats gained seats in both houses, so Bush began his presidency facing Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.⁠[4]

He was the first sitting vice president since Martin Van BurenMartin Van BurenMartin Van Buren (1782–1862) was an American politician who served as governor of New York, secretary of state and vice president before becoming President of the United States from 1837 to 1841; in 1848 he ran for president again as the Free Soil Party candidate.Open the full entry to be elected directly to the presidency.⁠[5]

Bush was sworn in as president on January 20, 1989. His inaugural address dealt with homelessness, crime and drug addiction and promoted volunteerism, pledging support for “a thousand points of light” among community organizations.⁠[3][6]

He named James Baker secretary of state and former New Hampshire governor John Sununu chief of staff, while Lee Atwater chaired the Republican National Committee; after the Senate rejected John Tower as defense secretary, he turned to Dick Cheney. Colin Powell became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.⁠[6][7]

The federal debt stood at $2.8 trillion when he took office, roughly three times its 1980 level, so he pursued a “limited agenda” centered on volunteerism, education reform and anti-drug efforts. He vetoed 44 bills, and Congress overrode only one.⁠[6]

The savings and loan industry collapsed after deregulation in the late 1970s and early 1980s led institutions into riskier investments. Bush proposed a bailout plan in February 1989, and the compromise he reached with Congress cost taxpayers more than $100 billion.⁠[6]

On August 9, 1989, he signed the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act.⁠[8]

In June 1989 Chinese forces crushed pro-democracy protests in Beijing, killing hundreds. Bush condemned the crackdown but imposed only limited sanctions to protect U.S.-Chinese relations, later sending Brent Scowcroft and Lawrence Eagleburger to repair ties.⁠[9]

Bush approached relations with the Soviet Union cautiously, a period the Soviets called the “pauza.” When the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 he responded on November 9 that “I’m very pleased”; the restraint avoided gloating but drew criticism from conservatives.⁠[9]

On December 2–3, 1989, he met the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Malta to discuss arms reductions.⁠[8][9]

Manuel Noriega, a former CIA informant, controlled Panama from 1983, was indicted on drug charges in 1988 and nullified the May 1989 election; a coup attempt in October 1989 failed. After a U.S. serviceman was killed, Bush launched “Operation Just Cause” on December 20, 1989, landing about 10,000 troops to join the 13,000 already there. Noriega surrendered in early January 1990 and was later convicted on drug charges in Miami.⁠[9]

The invasion lasted four days and caused hundreds of deaths, mostly Panamanian; the Organization of American States and the UN General Assembly denounced it.⁠[7]

German unification came far sooner than expected. The “Two-plus-Four” framework was approved in February 1990, with talks from May to September 1990. The main dispute was whether a unified Germany would belong to NATO; the compromise allowed membership but barred NATO troops from East Germany, gave Soviet troops three to four years to withdraw, and committed Germany to economic assistance for the Soviet Union.⁠[9]

In June 1990 Bush and Gorbachev signed a broad arms reduction agreement in Washington.⁠[9]

Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990. The law barred discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, public accommodations and transportation and required equivalent access to telecommunications; it passed with bipartisan support. Critics considered it too expensive, supporters count it among his major domestic achievements, and some conservatives describe it as a betrayal of the Reagan Revolution.⁠[6]

Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Bush quickly built a coalition and joined the Soviet Union in condemning the invasion, which Baker later called a turning point in the Cold War. The United Nations passed Resolution 660 condemning the invasion and later Resolution 678, authorizing member states to “use all necessary means” if Iraq did not withdraw by January 15, 1991.⁠[9]

Bush led a UN-approved worldwide embargo, sent U.S. forces to Saudi Arabia, assembled a coalition of Western European and Arab states and raised U.S. forces in the Gulf region to about 500,000.⁠[7]

In June 1990 Bush publicly acknowledged that tax increases might be necessary, breaking his pledge; Sununu, Richard Darman and Nicholas Brady led the budget talks. After his veto of Congress’s budget caused a brief government shutdown, a compromise produced the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 in October 1990, which cut spending and raised taxes and angered many conservative Republicans.⁠[6]

On October 2, 1990, he addressed the nation on the federal budget agreement, which capped discretionary spending and cut the deficit.⁠[8][3]

The Exxon Valdez spill of March 1989, which released more than 10 million gallons of oil into AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest U.S. state by area and borders Canada to the east; its capital is Juneau and its largest city is Anchorage. Alaska was admitted to the Union on January 3, 1959, as the 49th state. Its population at the 2020 Census (April 1, 2020) was 733,391.Open the full entry’s Prince William Sound, increased public support for environmental protection, and in 1989 Bush appointed William Reilly, a professional environmentalist, to lead the EPA. On November 15, 1990, he signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, which targeted urban smog, acid rain and industrial emissions of toxic chemicals.⁠[6]

That month he and Gorbachev met in Paris and signed a mutual nonaggression pact and treaties reducing their stockpiled weapons.⁠[7]

Congress narrowly authorized the use of force on January 12, 1991. Bush addressed the nation on military action in the Gulf on January 16, and “Operation Desert Storm” began with air strikes on January 17, 1991. The ground war began on February 24, coalition forces reached Kuwait City on February 27, and a ceasefire was declared the next day.⁠[9][8]

On March 3 Norman Schwarzkopf dictated the ceasefire terms. 148 U.S. soldiers were killed. On March 6 Bush declared to Congress, “tonight Kuwait is free.” Critics noted that Saddam Hussein remained in power, but the administration’s aim had been Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait.⁠[9]

The United States sent 425,000 troops, joined by 118,000 from allied nations; after weeks of air and missile attacks, a 100-hour ground battle defeated Iraq’s million-man army.⁠[10]

After the victory Bush’s approval rating reached about 90 percent, then declined.⁠[7]

On July 31, 1991, Bush and Gorbachev signed the START I treaty in Moscow. A coup against Gorbachev in August 1991 failed, but the Soviet Union was in decline; in December Russia, Ukraine and Belarus formed a new confederation, and Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991.⁠[8][9]

In speeches of September 11, 1990, and January 16, 1991, he described a new world order in which “the rule of law, not the law of the jungle, governs the conduct of nations.” The Madrid conference on Middle East peace in October 1991 was an early result, though it produced no lasting agreements.⁠[9]

Bush nominated David H. Souter to replace William J. Brennan and Clarence Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court of the United States; Thomas’s nomination was the more controversial. Thomas was confirmed on October 15, 1991.⁠[7][8]

On November 21, 1991, he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1991.⁠[8]

A recession began in late 1990 and lasted into 1992. Bush’s campaign was weakened by staff changes: Lee Atwater died in 1991, and Sununu resigned as chief of staff in December 1991. The conservative commentator Patrick Buchanan challenged Bush from the right in the primaries, but Bush easily won the nomination.⁠[7][4]

The Democratic nominee, Bill ClintonBill ClintonBill Clinton (born 1946) is an American politician and lawyer, a Democrat who served as attorney general and governor of Arkansas and as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001.Open the full entry, focused on economic concerns, and the Texas billionaire Ross Perot ran as a third-party candidate. Clinton received 43 percent of the popular vote and 370 electoral votes, Bush 38 percent and 168 electoral votes, and Perot 19 percent.⁠[4]

The Miller Center’s essay judges that voters felt his foreign policy achievements did not outweigh the recession and so chose change in 1992.⁠[11]

On December 4, 1992, Bush addressed the nation on Somalia, and U.S. troops deployed there on December 8 for “Operation Restore Hope” to relieve famine. On January 3, 1993, he and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the START II treaty in Moscow.⁠[8][9]

He pardoned six Reagan administration officials charged in connection with the Iran-Contra affair.⁠[7]

He negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and launched the “Points of Light” volunteerism initiative, naming 1,020 Daily Points of Light from all 50 states.⁠[3]

Bush left office on January 20, 1993, Clinton’s inauguration day, and returned to Houston, with little formal involvement in the Republican Party afterward.⁠[1]

He and his wife became active members of the Houston community; he volunteered at his church and served on boards, including that of a local hospital, and the couple divided their time between Houston and the family’s longtime home in Kennebunkport, MaineMaineMaine is a state in the northeastern United States, bordered by Canada and New Hampshire; its capital is Augusta and its largest city is Portland. It entered the Union on March 15, 1820, as the 23rd state, and had a population of 1,362,359 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry.⁠[12]

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum opened in 1997 on the west campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, housing his official documents and private papers.⁠[12]

Bush chaired the Board of Visitors of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 2001 to 2003 and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia from 2006 to 2008, and served as honorary chairman of the Points of Light Institute and other organizations.⁠[3]

After the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in December 2004, he joined former President Clinton to create the Bush-Clinton Houston Tsunami Fund, a national fundraising campaign.⁠[12]

He and Clinton also led relief efforts after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008; after the 2017 hurricane season he joined Jimmy Carter, Clinton, George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge W. Bush (born 1946) is an American politician and Republican who worked in the energy business and was a part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team before becoming the 46th governor of Texas in 1995 and serving as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009.Open the full entry and Barack Obama to launch the One America Appeal. On February 15, 2011, Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.⁠[3]

Bush died in Houston on November 30, 2018, at age 94, seven months after Barbara, his wife of 73 years, died on April 17, 2018. His body was taken to Washington, where he lay in state at the U.S. Capitol for two days before a state funeral at the National Cathedral. He is buried at his presidential library in College Station, alongside his wife and their daughter Robin.⁠[12]

Bush met Barbara Pierce at a country club dance in Greenwich in 1941, and they married on January 6, 1945, in Rye, New York. They had six children: George Walker (born 1946), Robin (1949–1953), John Ellis “Jeb” (born 1953), Neil (born 1955), Marvin (born 1956) and Dorothy “Doro” (born 1959).⁠[2]

Their daughter Robin died on October 12, 1953, at the age of three, after which the Bushes founded the Bright Star Foundation to support cancer research. Their eldest son, George W. Bush, became the 43rd president in 2001 and served two terms; their son Jeb Bush was governor of FloridaFloridaFlorida is a U.S. state occupying mainly the Florida peninsula, with its capital at Tallahassee; its most populous city is Jacksonville. It entered the Union on March 3, 1845, as the 27th state, and had a population of 21,538,187 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry from 1999 to 2007.⁠[3]

Bush and George W. Bush were the second father and son to serve as president, after John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams (1735–1826) was the first vice president (1789–1797) and the second president (1797–1801) of the United States. Earlier he served in the Continental Congress, was a signer of the Treaty of Paris and became the first American minister to Great Britain.Open the full entry and John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams (1767–1848) was an American diplomat and politician who served as secretary of state from 1817 to 1825 and as the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829, and afterwards sat in the House of Representatives until his death.Open the full entry.⁠[5]

Bush’s books include the autobiography Looking Forward, A World Transformed (on foreign policy, written with Brent Scowcroft), the collected letters All the Best and The China Diary of George H.W. Bush, published in 2008.⁠[3]

The CIA headquarters in northern VirginiaVirginiaVirginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state whose capital is Richmond. It entered the Union on June 25, 1788, as the 10th state, and had a population of 8,631,393 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry, Houston’s Intercontinental Airport and several Texas schools are named for him, and the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush was commissioned at Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia, on January 10, 2009.⁠[3]

The Miller Center’s essay judges that Bush entered the presidency as one of the best-qualified candidates for the office and that his presidency is generally viewed as successful in foreign affairs but disappointing in domestic affairs. It describes him as conservative in temperament, preferring stability, which it credits with helping the nation through a period of geopolitical transition, and says his restraint in not gloating over the Soviet collapse helped Gorbachev; it notes that he acted unilaterally in Panama but built a large, diverse coalition for the Persian Gulf War.⁠[11]

The essay adds that by breaking his no-new-taxes pledge and cutting military spending he alienated his party’s conservative wing, that the historical view of him is still evolving, and that his coalition-building before the Persian Gulf War is likely to serve his reputation well with future historians.⁠[11]

The White House biography credits Bush with leading the nation through the end of the 40-year Cold War, the breakup of the Communist bloc and the fall of the Berlin Wall.⁠[10]

George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum: Official website: https://www.bush41library.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[13]