George H. W. Bush

41st President of the United States

Photo by: David Valdez · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Born:June 12, 1924

Died:November 30, 2018

Age at death:94

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Parkinson's Disease

Zodiac Sign:Gemini

Height:1.88 m (6′2″)

Children:6

Born in:Milton, United States

Residence:Bush Family Home State Historic Site, United States

Buried in:United States

Languages:English

Entrepreneur Autobiographer Aircraft Pilot Naval Officer Baseball Player Politician Statesperson Diplomat

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Related People

Son: George W. Bush

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Photo credits (2)

George H. W. Bush:
Photo by: David Valdez · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
George W. Bush:
Photo by: Eric Draper · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Links

Wikipedia Official Website IMDb X (Twitter)

Famous For

Movies & TV

SnowdenBowling for ColumbineBefore the FloodThe 13thThe Putin Interviews

Books

Read my lips: no new taxesPeace dividendStatement on Signing the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989At the AbyssA World Transformed

Awards

Robert Schuman Medal (2014)honorary doctor of Harvard University (2014)Profile in Courage Award (2014)Presidential Medal of Freedom (2011)Osgar (2009)

George H. W. Bush

41st President of the United States

Biography

George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018) was the 41st president of the United States, serving from 1989 to 1993. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 43rd vice president under Ronald Reagan. His son, George W. Bush, was the 43rd president. Born into the prominent and wealthy Bush family in Milton, Massachusetts, Bush was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve on his 18th birthday, flying 58 combat missions during World War II and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. Bush moved to Texas and ventured in the oil industry, starting the company Zapata Corporation and becoming a millionaire by the age of 40. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 1964 and 1970, but was elected to represent Texas in the United States House of Representatives in 1966. Afterward, he held a variety of ambassadorial, federal, and party positions in the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from 1971 to 1977. Bush ran for president in 1980 but lost the Republican presidential primaries to Reagan, who later picked him as his running mate. Bush ran again in 1988 and won the presidential election against Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis. Foreign policy drove Bush's presidency as he navigated the final years of the Cold War and played a key role in the reunification of Germany. He presided over the U.S. invasion of Panama and the Gulf War, ending the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in the latter conflict. Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office, Bush negotiated and signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Domestically, Bush backpedaled on a 1988 campaign promise by enacting legislation to raise taxes that he justified as necessary to reducing the budget deficit. He championed and signed three pieces of bipartisan legislation in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Immigration Act and the Clean Air Act Amendments. He also appointed David Souter and Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Bush lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton following an economic recession, his turnaround on his tax promise, and the decreased emphasis of foreign policy in a post–Cold War political climate. After leaving office in 1993, Bush was active in humanitarian activities, often working alongside Clinton. With the victory of his eldest son, George W. Bush, in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the two became the second father–son pair to serve as the nation's president, following John Adams and John Quincy Adams. His second son, Jeb Bush, unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 primaries. After a long battle with vascular parkinsonism, he died at his home in Houston in 2018. Historians generally rank Bush as an above-average president.

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “George H. W. Bush”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Quotes

“It just isn't going to work, and it's very interesting that the man who invented this type of what I call a voodoo economic policy is Art Laffer, a California economist.”

— Speech at Carnegie Mellon University (10 April 1980)

“We love your adherence to democratic principles and to the democratic process.”

— Toasting Ferdinand Marcos in 1981, as quoted in "A Test for Democracy" by George Russell, Time magazine (3 February 1986); also quoted in "Understanding Some Aspects of Philippine-U.S. Relations in this Season of Peace and Goodwill" (28 November 2002) by Jovito R. Salonga

“You don't have to go to college to be a success … We need the people who run the offices, the people who do the hard physical work of our society.”

— Statement to the students of East Los Angeles' Garfield High School (5 May 1988)

Quotes sourced from the Wikiquote article "George H. W. Bush", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

George H. W. Bush's presidential portrait

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush, US Navy, August 1942 - September 1945

ATLANTIC OCEAN (June 10, 2012) Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush deliver remarks to the crew during a ceremony aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). The Navy's newest aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush hosted the ship's namesake and former President George H.W. Bush, along with his family and friends including former President George W. Bush, for a promotion and reenlistment ceremony in the ship's hangar bay during a scheduled underway-training evolution. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joshua D. Sheppard/Released) 120610-N-PW494-125 Join the conversation www.facebook.com/USNavy www.twitter.com/USNavy navylive.dodlive.mil

U.S. Army soldiers from Field Artillery Squadron, 2nd Calvary Regiment, 7th Army Training Command pay respects to the late President George H. W. Bush with a 21-gun salute Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018 at the parade field in Grafenwoehr, Germany. President George H. W. Bush served in the Navy during World War II as a torpedo pilot before his long public service career. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Stewart)

U.S. Army soldiers from the Field Artillery Squadron, 2nd Calvary Regiment, 7th Army Training Command pay respects to the late President George H. W. Bush with a 21-gun salute Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018 at the parade field in Grafenwoehr, Germany. The cannons were the only sound for 21 minutes. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Stewart)

Cannons from the Field Artillery Squadron, 2nd Calvary Regiment, 7th Army Training Command fire off for a 21-gun salute to honor the late President George H. W. Bush Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018 at the parade field at Grafenwoehr, Germany. Three cannons were used in rotation to conduct the salute. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Stewart)

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William L. Gardner II, the 7th Army Training Command’s CSM, recognizes soldiers who participated in the 21-gun salute held for the late President George H. W. Bush on Dec. 6, 2018 at the parade field at Grafenwoehr, Germany. The 7ATC CSM and Commanding General thanked every soldier involved. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Stewart)

U.S. Army Commanding General the 7th Army Training Command’s CSM, recognizes soldiers who participated in the 21-gun salute on Dec. 6, 2018 at the parade field at Grafenwoehr, Germany. The 7ATC CSM and Commanding General thanked every soldier involved. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Stewart)

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Henry McCaskill Jr., a chaplain assigned to Black Sea Area Support Team Religious Support Team (Left) and Canadian Chaplain Capt. Gary Cowper (right) bow their heads during a George H.W. Bush prayer vigil at Mihail Koglnicaenu Airbase, Romania, Dec. 5, 2018. U.S. and Canadian service members came together to celebrate the memory of former president George H.W. Bush during a religious service. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Deomontez Duncan)