Biography of George H.W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush, born on June 12, 1924, was the 41st President of the United States serving from 1989 to 1993. President Bush held several political positions prior to his presidency, including Ronald Reagan's Vice President of the United States in 1981 to 1989 and director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Bush was born in Massachusetts. His father is Senator Prescott Bush and his mother is Dorothy Walker Bush. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, at the age of 18, Bush became the youngest naval aviator in US history when he postponed postponed going to college in favor of joining the military. He served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. After graduating in 1948, he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.

Soon after founding his owl company, he became involved in politics and served as a member of the House of Representatives. In 1980, he ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States, but was selected Ronald Reagan to be the vice presidential nominee; the two were later elected. During his tenure, Bush headed the task forces on deregulation and the war on drugs.

In 1988, Bush defeated Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis to win the presidential election. His foreign policy drove his presidency; operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved only two years later. Domestically, Bush went back on a 1988 campaign promise and raised taxes. He lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton.

Bush is the father of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, and Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida.

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