George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018) was an American politician and businessman who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993. A member of the Republican Party, Bush also served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. A member of the Republican Party, Bush also served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, as Director of Central Intelligence, and as the 43rd vice president. During the 1980s, the U.S. had provided aid to Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, an anti-Communist dictator who engaged in drug trafficking. After a U.S. serviceman was shot by Panamanian forces in December 1989, Bush ordered the United States invasion of Panama, known as 'Operation Just Cause'. The invasion was the first large-scale American military operation in more than 40 years that was not related to the Cold War. American forces quickly took control of the Panama Canal Zone and Panama City.