Claim: George H. W. Bush first worked as a salesman in the oil business.

George Herbert Walker Bush -LRB- born June 12 , 1924 -RRB- is an American politician who was the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd Vice President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 . A member of the Republican Party , he was previously a congressman , ambassador , and Director of Central Intelligence . He is the oldest living former President and Vice President . Since 2000 , Bush has often been referred to as `` George H. W. Bush '' , `` Bush 41 '' , `` Bush the Elder '' , or `` George Bush Senior '' to distinguish him from his eldest son , George W. Bush , who became the 43rd President of the United States after the 2000 election .   Bush was born in Milton , Massachusetts , to Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush . Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 , Bush postponed his university studies , enlisted in the U.S. Navy on his 18th birthday , and became the youngest aviator in the U.S. Navy at the time . He served until the end of the war , then attended Yale University . Graduating in 1948 , he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business , becoming a millionaire by the age of 40 . Bush became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company , and he won election to the House of Representatives in 1966 . In 1971 , President Richard Nixon appointed Bush as Ambassador to the United Nations , and in 1973 , Bush became the Chairman of the Republican National Committee . The following year , President Gerald Ford appointed Bush as the ambassador to the People 's Republic of China , and later reassigned Bush to the position of Director of Central Intelligence . Bush ran for president in 1980 but was defeated in the Republican primary by Ronald Reagan . Reagan chose Bush as his running mate , and Bush became vice president after the Reagan -- Bush ticket won the 1980 election . During his eight-year tenure as vice president , Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting the `` War on Drugs '' .   In 1988 , Bush ran a successful campaign to succeed Reagan as President , defeating Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis . Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency : military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf ; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 , and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later . Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office , Bush also signed the North American Free Trade Agreement , which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States , Canada , and Mexico . Domestically , Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise and , after a struggle with Congress , signed an increase in taxes that Congress had passed . In the wake of a weak recovery from an economic recession , along with continuing budget deficits and the diminution of foreign politics as a major issue in a post-Cold War political climate , he lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton .   Bush left office in 1993 . His presidential library was dedicated in 1997 , and he has been active -- often alongside Bill Clinton -- in various humanitarian activities . With George W. Bush 's victory in the 2000 presidential election , Bush and his son became the second father-son combination to serve as president , following John Adams and John Quincy Adams . Another member of the Bush family , Bush 's second son Jeb Bush , served as the 43rd Governor of Florida -LRB- 1999 -- 2007 -RRB- and sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 .