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{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" style="margin-left:1em"
|+ <big>'''George H. W. Bush'''</big>
|-
| style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan=2 | [[Image:Georgebush.jpg|George H. W. Bush]]<br><small>[[Media:Gbush.gif|White House Portrait]]</small>
|-
| '''Order:''' || 41st President
|-
| '''Term of Office:''' || [[January 20]], [[1989]]&ndash;[[January 20]], [[1993]]
|-
| '''Predecessor:''' || [[Ronald Reagan|Ronald W. Reagan]]
|-
| '''Successor:''' || [[Bill Clinton|William J. Clinton]]
|-
| '''Date of Birth:''' || [[Thursday]], [[June 12]], [[1924]]
|-
| '''Place of Birth:''' || [[Milton, Massachusetts]]
|-
| '''[[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]]:''' || [[Barbara Bush]]
|-
| '''Profession:''' || [[Businessman]]
|-
| '''[[List of political parties in the United States|Political Party]]:''' || [[United States Republican Party|Republican]]
|-
| '''[[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]:''' || [[Dan Quayle|J. Danforth Quayle]]
|-
| '''Order:''' || 43rd Vice President
|-
| '''Term of Office:''' || [[January 20]], [[1989]]&ndash;[[January 20]], [[1993]]
|-
| '''Predecessor:''' || [[Walter Mondale|Walter F. Mondale]]
|-
| '''Successor:''' || [[Dan Quayle|J. Danforth Quayle III]]
|-
| '''[[President of the United States|President]]:''' ||[[Ronald Reagan|Ronald W. Reagan]]
|}
'''George Herbert Walker Bush''' (born [[June 12]], [[1924]]) was the 41st [[President of the United States]] ([[1989]]&ndash;[[1993]]). Previously, he had served as [[Ambassador (diplomacy)|ambassador]] to the [[United Nations]] ([[1971]]&ndash;[[1973]]), director of the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] [[1976]]&ndash;[[1977]], and the 43rd [[Vice President of the United States]] under President [[Ronald Reagan]] ([[1981]]&ndash;[[1989]]).

His son, [[George W. Bush]], is the 43rd President of the United States. As a result, the elder Bush is referred with various nicknames and titles, including "''former'' President Bush", "Bush the Elder", "Bush Senior", "Papa Bush", "Bush 41", or "the first President Bush" in order to avoid possible confusion between his presidency and that of his son. During his term of office he was known simply as President George Bush, without any initials, as his son had never held elective office and was not especially well-known to the public. Technically speaking, for official protocol, his son is "The President" and he is "President Bush". This will not change until his son leaves office. (Note that, because the son doesn't have "Herbert" in his name, the former President Bush and the current President Bush are not "[[senior]]" and "[[junior]]" but rather just father and son with very similar names.)


==Personal background==
George Herbert Walker Bush was born to [[Prescott Bush]] and Dorothy Walker. His father served as a Senator from [[Connecticut]] and was a partner in the prominent investment banking firm Brown Brothers Harriman. He was the first President to have two middle names, and the first President to be born in June. Now there are Presidential birthdays in each of the 12 months of the year.

[[Image:Bush ruth.jpg|thumb|left|200px|George H. W. Bush met [[Babe Ruth]] as a student at Yale.]]

George Bush attended [[Phillips Academy]] in [[Andover, Massachusetts]] from [[1936]] to [[1942]], where he demonstrated early leadership, captaining the [[baseball]] team, and was a member of an exclusive fraternity called the A.U.V, or "Auctoritas, Unitas, Veritas" &ndash; Latin for "Authority, Unity, Truth". His roommate at the [[boarding school]] was a young man named Edward G. Hooker. It was at Phillips Academy that Bush learned of the surprise attack on [[Pearl Harbor]], and after graduating in June, [[1942]], he joined the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]].

He was a naval aviator during [[World War II]], the youngest ever at that time. Awards and decorations include the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (USA)|Distinguished Flying Cross]], [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]], and the [[World War II Victory Medal]]. While serving in the [[Pacific Theater]] as a torpedo bomber pilot, he was also shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire and was rescued from the water by the submarine [[USS Finback (SS-230)|USS ''Finback'']].

After the War he attended [[Yale University]] where he joined the [[Delta Kappa Epsilon]] [[fraternities and sororities|fraternity]], and was inducted into the [[Skull and Bones]] [[secret society]], helping him to build friendships and political support. Joining the Skull and Bones a year after him at Bush's request was [[William Sloane Coffin]], a fellow classmate from the Phillips Academy. They would remain friends and, at times, enemies, throughout their lives, though Coffin became a notable anti-war activist of the political left.

He married [[Barbara Bush|Barbara Pierce]] on [[January 6]], [[1945]]. Their marriage produced 6 children: [[George W. Bush|George W.]], [[Robin Bush|Pauline Robinson "Robin"]] ([[December 20]], [[1949]]&ndash;[[October 11]], [[1953]], died of [[leukemia]]); [[Jeb Bush|John (Jeb)]]; [[Neil Bush|Neil]]; [[Marvin Bush|Marvin]]; and [[Dorothy Bush|Dorothy Walker]] ([[August 18]], [[1959]]&mdash;). The family has built on his and his father's political successes, with his son George W. Bush's [[Governor of Texas|Governorship of Texas]] and subsequent election as president, and his son Jeb Bush's election as [[Governor of Florida]]. The Bush political dynasty has been compared to that of [[John Adams]] and the [[Kennedy political family|Kennedy family]]. Bush's maternal grandfather was [[George Herbert Walker I|George Herbert Walker Sr.]], the founder of G.H. Walker & Co. Bush's uncle [[George Herbert Walker II|George Herbert Walker Jr.]] is the current head of the company. Bush's first cousin [[George Herbert Walker III]] is the U.S. ambassador to Hungary.

Bush ventured into the Texas oil business after the war with mixed results. He secured a position with [[Dresser]] through his father's investment banking relationship with the company. His son, Neil Mallon Bush, is named after his employer at Dresser, Neil Mallon, a close family friend. Dresser, decades later, merged with [[Halliburton]], whose former CEOs include [[Dick Cheney]], George H. W. Bush's Secretary of Defense during the Gulf War and now (2004) Vice President of the United States and former George W. Bush campaign manager.

==Presidency==
[[Image:Bush_troops.jpg|thumb|300px|President Bush visited American troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990]]
As President of the United States, George Bush is perhaps best known for leading the [[United Nations]] coalition in the 1990&ndash;1991 [[Gulf War]]. In [[1990]], led by [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Iraq]] invaded its oil-rich neighbor to the south, [[Kuwait]]. The broad coalition sought to remove Iraqi forces from [[Kuwait]] and ensure that [[Iraq]] did not invade [[Saudi Arabia]].

In a foreign policy move that would come into question later, President Bush achieved an incomplete military victory, allowing Saddam Hussein to stay in power at the advice of Bush's "war cabinet," which included then-Secretary of Defense [[Dick Cheney]]. Cheney noted that invading the country would get the United States "bogged down in the quagmire inside Iraq." [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/pubs/soref/cheney.htm Washington Institute] Bush later explained that he did not give the order to invade Iraq because it would have "incurred incalculable human and political costs... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq," [http://www.thememoryhole.org/mil/bushsr-iraq.htm The Memory Hole], [http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/gulfwar.asp Snopes]. In explaining to Gulf War veterans why he chose not to invade, he said, "whose life would be on my hands as the commander-in-chief because I, unilaterally, went beyond the international law, went beyond the stated mission, and said we're going to show our macho? We're going into Baghdad. We're going to be an occupying power &mdash; America in an Arab land &mdash; with no allies at our side. It would have been disastrous." [http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1999/03/a19990303bush.htm fas.org]

President Bush's popularity rating in America soared during and immediately after the apparent success of the military operations, but later fell due to an economic recession.

The tail end of the [[late 1980s recession]], that had dogged most of Bush's term in office, was a contributing factor to his defeat in the [[U.S. presidential election, 1992|1992 Presidential election]]. Several other factors were key in his defeat, including siding with Congressional [[United States Democratic Party|Democrats]] in [[1990]] to raise taxes despite his famous "[[Read my lips: No new taxes]]" pledge not to institute any new taxes. In doing so, Bush alienated many members of his conservative base, losing their support for his re-election. Another major factor, which may have helped [[Bill Clinton]] defeat Bush in the 1992 election was the candidacy of [[Ross Perot]]. Perot won 19% of the popular vote, and Clinton, still a largely unknown quantity in American politics, won the election.

[[Image:Ghwb1.gif|thumb|left|160px|The official White House portrait of President George H.W. Bush]]

Bush's last controversial act in office was his pardon of six former government employees implicated in the [[Iran-Contra]] scandal on [[December 24]], [[1992]], most prominently former Secretary of Defense [[Caspar Weinberger]]. Weinberger had been scheduled to stand trial on [[January 5]], [[1993]] for lying to Congress regarding his knowledge of arms sales to [[Iran]] and concealing 1700 pages of his personal diary detailing discussions with other officials about the arms sales. As Weinberger's private notes contained references to Bush's endorsement of the secret shipments to Iran, some believe that Bush's pardon was an effort to prevent an order for Bush to appear before a [[grand jury]] or possibly to avoid an indictment. Weinberger's indictment stated that Weinberger's notes contradicted Bush's assertions that he had only peripheral knowledge of the arms for hostages deal. Lawrence Walsh, the [[United States Office of the Independent Counsel|Independent Counsel]] assigned to the case, charged that "the Iran-contra cover-up, which has continued for more than six years, has now been completed." Walsh likened the pardons to President Nixon's [[Saturday Night Massacre]]. Bush responded that the Walsh probe constituted an attempt to criminalize a policy dispute between the legislative and executive branches. In addition to Weinberger, Bush pardoned [[Duane R. Clarridge]], [[Clair E. George]], [[Robert C. McFarlane]], [[Elliott Abrams]], and [[Alan G. Fiers Jr.]], all of whom had been indicted and/or convicted of charges by the Independent Counsel.

=== Major legislation signed ===
*[[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]]
*[[Civil Rights Act of 1991]]
*[[Clean_Air_Act_(USA) (1990)|Clean Air Act of 1990]]
*[[Whistle Blower Protection Act]] of 1989

=== Cabinet ===
{| cellpadding="1" cellspacing="4" style="margin:3px; border:3px solid #000000;" align="left"
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|'''OFFICE'''||align="left"|'''NAME'''||align="left"|'''TERM'''
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|[[President of the United States|President]]||align="left" |'''[[George H. W. Bush]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]||align="left"|'''[[Dan Quayle|J. Danforth Quayle]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1993
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]]||align="left"|'''[[James Baker|James A. Baker III]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1992
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Lawrence Eagleburger]]'''||align="left"|1992&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]]||align="left"|'''[[Nicholas F. Brady]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]]||align="left"|'''[[Dick Cheney|Richard B. Cheney]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[Attorney General of the United States|Attorney General]]||align="left"|'''[[Dick Thornburgh|Richard L. Thornburgh]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1991
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[William Barr|William P. Barr]]'''||align="left"|1991&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]]||align="left"|'''[[Manuel Lujan, Jr.]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce]]||align="left"|'''[[Robert Mosbacher|Robert A. Mosbacher]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1992
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Barbara Hackman Franklin]]'''||align="left"|1992&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Labor|Secretary of Labor]]||align="left"|'''[[Elizabeth Dole|Elizabeth Hanford Dole]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1991
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Lynn Martin]]'''||align="left"|1991&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Agriculture|Secretary of Agriculture]]||align="left"|'''[[Clayton K. Yeutter]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1991
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Edward Madigan]]'''||align="left"|1991&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|Secretary of Health and Human Services]]||align="left"|'''[[Louis Wade Sullivan|Louis W. Sullivan]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Education|Secretary of Education]]||align="left"|'''[[Lauro F. Cavazos]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1990
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Lamar Alexander]]'''||align="left"|1991&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development|Secretary of Housing and Urban Development]]||align="left"|'''[[Jack Kemp|Jack F. Kemp]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Transportation|Secretary of Transportation]]||align="left"|'''[[Samuel K. Skinner]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1992
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Andrew Card|Andrew H. Card]]'''||align="left"|1992&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Energy|Secretary of Energy]]||align="left"|'''[[James D. Watkins]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1993
|-
|align="left"|[[United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs|Secretary of Veterans Affairs]]||align="left"|'''[[Ed Derwinski|Edward J. Derwinski]]'''||align="left"|1989&ndash;1993
|}
<br clear="all">

=== Supreme Court appointments ===
Bush appointed the following Justices to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]:

* [[David Souter]] &ndash; 1990
* [[Clarence Thomas]] &ndash; 1991

==Post-presidency==
[[Image:Bushes.jpg|thumb|300px|The Bush family enjoyed a game of tee ball on the White House lawn on June 3, 2001.]]
After losing the election, Bush has retired from public life. After retiring, he did, however, notably parachute from an airplane for the first time since World War II. The Bushes live in [[Houston, Texas]] and their summer home in [[Kennebunkport, Maine]].

Bush has never written a [[memoir]] of his political life, and says he does not plan to. He has however published a book containing a series of collected letters from his life (''All The Best, George Bush'' [[1999]]) and co-authored a book on recent foreign policy issues with his former National Security Advisor, [[Brent Scowcroft]] (''A World Transformed'', [[1998]]). He has given a number of paid speeches and participated in business ventures with the Carlyle Group.

[[Image:Pres37-41.jpg|thumb|200px|left|(Left to right:) Presidents Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter at the dedication of the Reagan Presidential Library.]]

The [[George Bush Presidential Library and Museum]] is located on the Southwest corner of the campus of [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas]].

The tenth [[Nimitz class aircraft carrier|''Nimitz''-class aircraft carrier]] will be named [[USS George H. W. Bush|USS ''George H. W. Bush'']] when it is [[ship naming and launching|launched]] in [[2009]].

[[Image:Pres38-42.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Five [[President_of_the_United_States#Former_Presidents|presidents]] and [[First Lady of the United States|first ladies]] attended the funeral of [[Richard Nixon]] on [[April 27]], [[1994]], in Nixon's hometown of [[Yorba Linda, California|Yorba Linda]], [[California]]. From left: [[Bill Clinton|Bill]] and [[Hillary Clinton]], [[George H. W. Bush|George H.W.]] and [[Barbara Bush]], [[Ronald Reagan|Ronald]] and [[Nancy Reagan]], [[Jimmy Carter|Jimmy]] and [[Rosalynn Carter]], [[Gerald Ford|Gerald]] and [[Betty Ford]].]]

[[George Bush Intercontinental Airport]] in [[Houston, Texas]] was renamed after the former president in 1997.

He also holds his own fishing tournament in [[Islamorada]], an island in the [[Florida Keys]].

In 2000, he became the first president since [[John Adams]] to be father of another president when George W. Bush, his son, then Texas governor, was elected president of the United States.

On [[June 12]], [[2004]], he went [[skydiving]] in honor of his 80th birthday.

On [[November 22]], [[2004]], New York Republican Governor [[George Pataki]] named him and the other living former presidents ([[Gerald Ford]], [[Jimmy Carter]], and [[Bill Clinton]]) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the [[World Trade Center]]. That same day, a plane enroute to pick him up crashed in [[Houston, Texas]], killing three passengers.

== Further reading ==
* Barilleaux, Ryan J. and Mary E. Stuckey, eds. Leadership and the Bush Presidency: Prudence or Drift in an Era of Change New York: Praeger Publishers, 1992.
* Bush, George H. W. All the Best, George Bush: My Life and Other Writings New York: Scribner, 1999.
* Duffy, Michail & Dan Goodgame Marching in Place: The Status Quo Presidency of George Bush New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992.
* Green, John Robert The Presidency of George Bush Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2000.
* Hyams, Joe Flight of the Avenger: George Bush at War New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovic Publishers, 1991.
* Podhoretz, John Hell of a Ride: Backstage at the White House Follies, 1989-1993 New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

== Related topics ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource author}}
* [[Bush family]]
* [[U.S. presidential election, 1980]]
* [[U.S. presidential election, 1984]]
* [[U.S. presidential election, 1988]]
* [[U.S. presidential election, 1992]]
* [[George Bush Presidential Library]] in [[College Station, Texas]]
* [[History of the United States (1980-1988)|History of the United States (1980&ndash;1988)]]
* [[History of the United States (1988-present)|History of the United States (1988&ndash;present)]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/bush.htm Inaugural Address]
* [http://www.snopes.com/history/american/bushscan.htm Page discussing the scanner story]
* ''[http://www.tarpley.net/bushb.htm George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography]'' by [[Webster G. Tarpley]] & [[Anton Chaitkin]]
* [http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6225-2004Nov22.html?nav=rss_world "Jet Crashes Before Picking Up Elder Bush"] (Washington Post article)

{{start box}}

{{succession box | before = [[Ronald Reagan]] | title = [[President of the United States]] | years = 1989&ndash;1993 | after = [[Bill Clinton]]}}

{{succession box | before = [[Walter Mondale]] | title = [[Vice President of the United States]] | years = 1981&ndash;1989 | after = [[Dan Quayle]]}}

{{succession box | before = [[William E. Colby]] | title = [[Director of Central Intelligence|Director of the CIA]] | years = 1976&ndash;1977 | after = [[Stansfield Turner]]}}

{{succession box | before = [[Charles W. Yost]] | title = [[United States Ambassadors to the United Nations|U.S. Ambassador to the UN]] | years = 1971&ndash;1973 | after = [[John A. Scali]]}}

{{succession box | before = [[Ronald Reagan]] | title = [[:Category:U.S. Republican Party presidential nominees|U.S. Republican Party Presidential Nominees]] | years = 1988 (won), 1992 (lost) | after = [[Bob Dole]]}}

{{succession2 | before = [[Bob Dole]] | title = [[:Category:U.S. Republican Party vice presidential nominees|U.S. Republican Party Vice Presidential Nominees]] | years = 1980 (won), 1984 (won) | after = [[Dan Quayle]]}}

{{end box}}

{{Uspresidents}}

{{US Vice Presidents}}

[[Category:Presidents of the U.S.|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:U.S. Republican Party presidential nominees|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:Vice Presidents of the U.S.|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:U.S. Republican Party vice presidential nominees|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:Directors of Central Intelligence|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:Members of the U.S. House of Representatives|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:World War II veterans|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:Bonesmen|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:Bush family|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:Episcopalians|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:Naval aviators|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:People from Texas|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:Texas politicians|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:People from Massachusetts|Bush, George H. W.]]
[[Category:1924 births|Bush, George H. W.]]

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Revision as of 07:43, 20 December 2004

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