George H.W. Bush

41st President of the United States

### Children

George W. Bush (son), Robin Bush (daughter), Jeb Bush (son), Neil Bush (son), Marvin Bush (son), Dorothy Bush Koch (daughter)

### Parents

Prescott Bush (father)Dorothy Walker (mother)

### Siblings

Nancy Bush Ellis (sister), Jonathan Bush (brother), William H.T. Bush (brother)

### Hair Color

Brown

**George H. W. Bush** after serving as vice president under Reagan, now as the 41st President (1989-1993), brought to the White House a dedication to traditional American values and a determination to direct them toward making the United States “a kinder and gentler nation” in the face of a dramatically changing world.

*The Presidency of George H W Bush spanned the period in United States history that encompasses the end of the Cold War and the rise of terrorism. President George H W Bush represented the Republican political party which influenced the domestic and foreign policies of his presidency.*

## Biography

George Bush brought to the White House a dedication to traditional American values and a determination to direct them toward making the United States “a kinder and gentler nation.” In his Inaugural Address he pledged in “a moment rich with promise” to use American strength as “a force for good.”

Coming from a family with a tradition of public service, George Herbert Walker Bush felt the responsibility to make his contribution both in time of war and in peace. Born in Milton, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1924, he became a student leader at Phillips Academy in Andover. On his 18th birthday he enlisted in the armed forces. The youngest pilot in the Navy when he received his wings, he flew 58 combat missions during World War II. On one mission over the Pacific as a torpedo bomber pilot he was shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire and was rescued from the water by a U. S. submarine. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in action.

Bush next turned his energies toward completing his education and raising a family. In January 1945 he married Barbara Pierce. They had six children– George, Robin (who died as a child), John (known as Jeb), Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy.

At Yale University he excelled both in sports and in his studies; he was captain of the baseball team and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After graduation Bush embarked on a career in the oil industry of West Texas.

Like his father, Prescott Bush, who was elected a Senator from Connecticut in 1952, George became interested in public service and politics. He served two terms as a Representative to Congress from Texas. Twice he ran unsuccessfully for the Senate. Then he was appointed to a series of high-level positions: Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1980 Bush campaigned for the Republican nomination for President. He lost, but was chosen as a running mate by Ronald Reagan. As Vice President, Bush had responsibility in several domestic areas, including Federal deregulation and anti-drug programs, and visited scores of foreign countries. In 1988 Bush won the Republican nomination for President and, with Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate, he defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the general election.

Bush faced a dramatically changing world, as the Cold War ended after 40 bitter years, the Communist empire broke up, and the Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union ceased to exist; and reformist President Mikhail Gorbachev, whom Bush had supported, resigned. While Bush hailed the march of democracy, he insisted on restraint in U. S. policy toward the group of new nations.

In other areas of foreign policy, President Bush sent American troops into Panama to overthrow the corrupt regime of General Manuel Noriega, who was threatening the security of the canal and the Americans living there. Noriega was brought to the United States for trial as a drug trafficker.

Bush’s greatest test came when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, then threatened to move into Saudi Arabia. Vowing to free Kuwait, Bush rallied the United Nations, the U. S. people, and Congress and sent 425,000 American troops. They were joined by 118,000 troops from allied nations. After weeks of air and missile bombardment, the 100-hour land battle dubbed Desert Storm routed Iraq’s million-man army.

Despite unprecedented popularity from this military and diplomatic triumph, Bush was unable to withstand discontent at home from a faltering economy, rising violence in inner cities, and continued high deficit spending. In 1992 he lost his bid for reelection to Democrat William Clinton.

George H. W. Bush passed away on November 30, 2018, at the age of 94.

## Personality

The character traits of President George H W Bush can be described as diligent, practical, persuasive, loyal, ambitious, unpretentious, determined and forceful. It has been speculated that the Myers-Briggs personality type for George H W Bush is an ISTJ (Introversion, Sensing, Thinking, Judgement). A reserved, well-regulated and serious character and a strong traditionalist. George H W Bush Personality type: logical, organized, sensible, thorough and dependable.

## Nicknames

* "Bush 41"
* "Bush the Elder"
* "Bush Senior"
* "Papa Bush"
* "Poppy"

*Meaning: The nickname of President George H.W. Bush provides an insight into how the man was viewed by the American public during his presidency. The meaning of the personal nickname of "Poppy" relates to a family nickname.  His grandfather was known as 'Pop' and his grandson, the young George, was called 'Poppy' or 'Little Pop' by the family. The nicknames "Bush 41", "Bush Senior", and "Bush the Elder" were to distinguish him from his oldest son George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States.*

## Inauguration

The inauguration of George H. W. Bush as the 41st president of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 1989, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 51st inauguration and marked the commencement of the only term of both George H. W. Bush as president and Dan Quayle as vice president. Chief Justice William Rehnquist administered the presidential oath of office to Bush and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor administered the vice presidential oath of office to Quayle. Bush was the first sitting vice president to be inaugurated as president (not due to his predecessor's death or resignation) since Martin Van Buren in 1837 and the last World War II combat veteran. Bush composed his own prayer for the ceremony which he recited at the start of his inaugural address; the last president to do so was Dwight D. Eisenhower at his first inauguration in 1953.

The event helped the Washington Metro set a single-day record of 604,089 trips, breaking the record of 565,000 set the spring before by the Washington for Jesus '88 rally. The record would stand until the day of the National Victory Celebration in 1991.

## Famous Films

* Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
* Goodfellas
* The Godfather Part III
* Boyz in the Hood
* Back to the Future Part II
* Ghostbusters II
* Batman (1989)
* Do the Right Thing
* The Little Mermaid (1989)
* Beauty and the Beast (1991)
* Aladdin (1992)
* Batman Returns
* Captain America (1990)
* Back to the Future Part III
* Army of Darkness
* Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
* Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
* Glory
* Rocky V
* It (1990)
* Misery
* The Addams Family (1991)
* Thelma and Louise
* Hook

## Accomplishments and major events

*The major accomplishments and the famous, main events that occurred during the time that George H W Bush was president included the Gulf War led by coalition forces in Operation Desert Storm, against against Iraq that was led by Saddam Hussein and the terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda became, known to the west. At home the Exxon Valdez oil spill caused an ecological disaster, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established and the Clean Air Act was signed into law.*

**The Cold War (1945 - 1991)**

Summary: The Cold War was a 'war of words'  involving the Cold War Space Race and the Cold War Arms Race involving the nuclear build-up between the USA and the West and the Communist countries dominated by the USSR and China in the East. George H W Bush was one of the nine US Presidents who were in office during the dangerous period in history known as the Cold War from  1945 - 1991 in which the US adopted the policy of Containment to restrict the spread of communism abroad.

**The Exxon Valdez oil spill (1989)**

Summary: The ecological disaster caused by Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred during the presidency of George H W Bush on March 24, 1989 when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker, en route from Valdez, Alaska to Long Beach, California, struck and was grounded on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The 1990 Oil Pollution Act was passed to make tankers safer.

**Al-Qaeda**

Summary: The radical Islamic group Al-Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden, was formed in 1988 - 1989. The intensely anti-American Al-Qaeda established training camps in Afghanistan. The George H W Bush administration witnessed the emergence of the terrorist group Al Qaeda whose members would eventually be responsible for the terror attacks on the United States and their citizens. The Cold War had ended but the War on Terror was about to begin.

**The Tiananmen Square Massacre (1989)**

Summary: The Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4, 1989 in Beijing, China when Chinese troops stormed through Tiananmen Square firing indiscriminately into the crowds and killing hundreds of pro-democracy protesters.

**The Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)**

Summary: The Berlin Wall went up on 13 August 1961 to block movement between the Soviet sector and the western sector of Berlin, Germany.  The Fall of the Berlin Wall began on November 9, 1989 symbolizing the fall of communism and the birth of democracy in the Iron Curtain countries.

**The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)**

Summary: The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by George H W Bush on July 26, 1990 to protect the civil rights of individuals with disabilities.

**The Gulf War (1990 - 1991)**

Summary: The Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991) between coalition forces from 34 nations led by the United States against Iraq led by Saddam Hussein began during the presidency of George H W Bush. The Gulf War erupted in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of oil rich Kuwait. The Gulf War was a heavily televised war and every night people watched live pictures of the conflict. The Gulf War ended on 28 February 1991 WITH victory for the United States and the coalition forces.

**Operation Desert Storm (1991)**

Summary: The lead up to hostilities in the Gulf War began during the presidency of George H W Bush with the "wholly defensive" mission called Operation Desert Shield (2 August 1990, to 16 January 1991) in which US forces gathered in the Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. Iraq failed to meet the deadline to withdraw from Kuwait which led to Operation Desert Storm (17 January 1991 – 28 February 1991), the operational code name for the combat phase of the Gulf War.

**The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War (1991)**

Summary: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War was prompted by the  policies of Glasnost and Perestroika inadvertently opening the floodgates for political demonstrations against the restrictive Communist-led governments of the Eastern bloc. The Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as  on December 25, 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War finally came to end during the presidency of George H W Bush.

## Post Presidency

### Appearances

After leaving office, Bush and his wife built a retirement house in the community of West Oaks, Houston. He established a presidential office within the Park Laureate Building on Memorial Drive in Houston. He also frequently spent time at his vacation home in Kennebunkport, took annual cruises in Greece, went on fishing trips in Florida, and visited the Bohemian Club in Northern California. He declined to serve on corporate boards but delivered numerous paid speeches and was an adviser to The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm. He never published his memoirs, but he and Brent Scowcroft co-wrote *A World Transformed*, a 1998 work on foreign policy. Portions of his letters and his diary were later published as *The China Diary of George H. W. Bush* and *All the Best, George Bush*.

During a 1993 visit to Kuwait, Bush was targeted in an assassination plot directed by the Iraqi Intelligence Service. President Clinton retaliated when he ordered the firing of 23 cruise missiles at Iraqi Intelligence Service headquarters in Baghdad. Bush did not publicly comment on the assassination attempt or the missile strike, but privately spoke with Clinton shortly before the strike took place. In the 1994 gubernatorial elections, his sons George W. and Jeb concurrently ran for Governor of Texas and Governor of Florida. Concerning their political careers, he advised them both that "[a]t some point both of you may want to say 'Well, I don't agree with my Dad on that point' or 'Frankly I think Dad was wrong on that.' Do it. Chart your own course, not just on the issues but on defining yourselves". George W. won his race against Ann Richards while Jeb lost to Lawton Chiles. After the results came in, the elder Bush told ABC, "I have very mixed emotions. Proud father, is the way I would sum it all up." Jeb would again run for governor of Florida in 1998 and win at the same time that his brother George W. won re-election in Texas. It marked the second time in United States history that a pair of brothers served simultaneously as governors.

Bush supported his son's candidacy in the 2000 presidential election but did not actively campaign in the election and did not deliver a speech at the 2000 Republican National Convention. George W. Bush defeated Al Gore in the 2000 election and was re-elected in 2004. Bush and his son thus became the second father–son pair to each serve as President of the United States, following John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Through previous administrations, the elder Bush had ubiquitously been known as "George Bush" or "President Bush", but following his son's election, the need to distinguish between them has made retronymic forms such as "George H. W. Bush" and "George Bush Sr." and colloquialisms such as "Bush 41" and "Bush the Elder" more common. Bush advised his son on some personnel choices, approving of the selection of Dick Cheney as running mate and the retention of George Tenet as CIA Director. However, he was not consulted on all appointments, including that of his old rival, Donald Rumsfeld, as Secretary of Defense. Though he avoided giving unsolicited advice to his son, Bush and his son also discussed some policy matters, especially regarding national security issues.

In his retirement, Bush used the public spotlight to support various charities. Despite earlier political differences with Bill Clinton, the two former presidents eventually became friends. They appeared together in television ads, encouraging aid for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. However, when interviewed by Jon Meacham, Bush criticized Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and even his son George W. Bush for their handling of foreign policy after the September 11 attacks.

### Final years

Bush supported Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential election, and Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election, but both were defeated by Democrat Barack Obama. In 2011, Obama awarded Bush with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.

Bush supported his son Jeb's bid in the 2016 Republican primaries. Jeb Bush's campaign struggled, however, and he withdrew from the race during the primaries. Neither George H. W. nor George W. Bush endorsed the eventual Republican nominee, Donald Trump; all three Bushes emerged as frequent critics of Trump's policies and speaking style, while Trump frequently criticized George W. Bush's presidency. George H. W. later said he voted for the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, in the general election. After the election, Bush wrote a letter to President-elect Donald Trump in January 2017 to inform him that because of his poor health, he would not be able to attend Trump's inauguration on January 20; he gave him his best wishes.

In August 2017, after the violence at Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, both presidents Bush released a joint statement saying, "America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms[. ...] As we pray for Charlottesville, we are all reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city's most prominent citizen in the Declaration of Independence: we are all created equal and endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights."

On April 17, 2018, Barbara Bush died at the age of 92 at her home in Houston, Texas. Her funeral was held at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston four days later. Bush, along with former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush (son), Bill Clinton and First Ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush (daughter-in-law) and Hillary Clinton attended the funeral and posed together for a photo as a sign of unity. On November 1, 2018, Bush went to the polls to vote early in the midterm elections. This would be his final public appearance.

## Death

After a long battle with vascular Parkinson's disease, Bush died at his home in Houston on November 30, 2018, at the age of 94. At the time of his death he was the longest-lived U.S. president, a distinction now held by Jimmy Carter. He was also the third-oldest vice president. Bush lay in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol from December 3 through December 5; he was the 12th U.S. president to be accorded this honor. Then, on December 5, Bush's casket was transferred from the Capitol rotunda to Washington National Cathedral where a state funeral was held. After the funeral, Bush's body was transported to George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, where he was buried next to his wife Barbara and daughter Robin. At the funeral, former president George W. Bush eulogized his father saying, "He looked for the good in each person, and he usually found it."

## Facts and trivia

* George H.W. Bush was the last American President to serve in World War II.
* A native of New England, Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He spent most of his childhood in Greenwich, at the family vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine, or at his maternal grandparents' plantation in South Carolina.
* Bush was the second son of Prominent Wall Street Investment Banker and Politician, Prescott Bush, who represented Connecticut in the United States Senate from 1952 to 1963.
* Bush's paternal grandfather, Samuel P. Bush, worked as an executive for a railroad parts company in Columbus, Ohio, while his maternal grandfather and namesake, George Herbert Walker, led Wall Street investment bank W. A. Harriman & Co. Walker was known as "Pop", and young Bush was called "Poppy" as a tribute to him.
* Because of the family's wealth, Bush was largely unaffected by the Great Depression.
* He attended Greenwich Country Day School from 1929 to 1937 and Phillips Academy, an elite private academy in Massachusetts, from 1937 to 1942. While at Phillips Academy, he served as president of the senior class, secretary of the student council, president of the community fund-raising group, a member of the editorial board of the school newspaper, and captain of the varsity baseball and soccer teams.
* Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Bush postponed college at 18, to become the youngest aviator in the United States Navy during World War II.
* Bush met Barbara Pierce at a Christmas dance in Greenwich in December 1941, and, after a period of courtship, they became engaged in December 1943. While Bush was on leave from the Navy, they married in Rye, New York, on January 6, 1945. The Bushes enjoyed a strong marriage, and Barbara would later be a popular First Lady, seen by many as "a kind of national grandmother". They had six children: George W. (b. 1946), Robin (1949–1953), Jeb (b. 1953), Neil (b. 1955), Marvin (b. 1956), and Dorothy (b. 1959). Their oldest daughter, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953.
* After the war, Bush from Yale University and moved to West Texas, where he established a successful oil company, earning him millions of dollars.
* After an unsuccessful run for the United States Senate, Bush won the election to the 7th congressional district of Texas in 1966.
* President Richard Nixon appointed Bush to the position of Ambassador to the United Nations in 1971 and to the position of chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973. In 1974, President Gerald Ford appointed him as the Chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China, and in 1976 Bush became the Director of Central Intelligence.
* Bush ran for president in 1980, but was defeated in the Republican presidential primaries by Ronald Reagan, who then selected Bush as his vice presidential running mate.
* In the 1988 presidential election, Bush defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis, becoming the first incumbent vice president to be elected president since Martin Van Buren in 1836.
* Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency, as he navigated the final years of the Cold War and played a key role in the reunification of Germany.
* Bush's presidency encompassed military operations in Panama and the Persian Gulf, the Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union dissolved, and the Cold War ended.
* Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office, Bush negotiated and signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
* 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 and his wife built a retirement house in the community of West Oaks, Houston. He established a presidential office within the Park Laureate Building on Memorial Drive in Houston. He also frequently spent time at his vacation home in Kennebunkport, took annual cruises in Greece, went on fishing trips in Florida, and visited the Bohemian Club in Northern California.
* In his retirement, Bush was active in humanitarian activities, often working alongside Bill Clinton, his former opponent.
* With the victory of his son, George W. Bush, in the 2000 presidential election, the two became the second father–son pair to serve as the nation's president, following John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Another son, Jeb Bush, unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 Republican primaries.
* Bush's wife, Barbara, died on April 17, 2018. He himself passed away seven months later on November 30, 2018.
* Historians generally rank Bush as an above-average president.