George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush
Official portrait, 1989
41st President of the United States
In office January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993
Vice President	Dan Quayle
Preceded by	Ronald Reagan
Succeeded by	Bill Clinton
43rd Vice President of the United States
In office January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Walter Mondale
Succeeded by	Dan Quayle
11th Director of Central Intelligence
In office January 30, 1976 – January 20, 1977
President	Gerald Ford
Deputy	Vernon A. Walters E. Henry Knoche
Preceded by	William Colby
Succeeded by	Stansfield Turner
2nd Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China
In office September 26, 1974 – December 7, 1975
President	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	David K. E. Bruce
Succeeded by	Thomas S. Gates Jr.
Chair of the Republican National Committee
In office January 19, 1973 – September 16, 1974
Preceded by	Bob Dole
Succeeded by	Mary Smith
10th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
In office March 1, 1971 – January 18, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Charles Yost
Succeeded by	John A. Scali
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 7th district
In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1971
Preceded by	John Dowdy
Succeeded by	Bill Archer
Personal details
Born	George Herbert Walker Bush (1924-06-12)June 12, 1924 Milton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	November 30, 2018(2018-11-30) (aged 94) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Resting place	George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Political party	Republican
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Spouse(s)	Barbara Bush (m. 1945; died 2018)
Children	George Robin Jeb Neil Marvin Dorothy
Relatives	Bush family
Education	Yale University (BA)
Occupation	businessman diplomat politician
Awards	Awards and honors
Signature
Website	Presidential Library
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1942–1955
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	Fast Carrier Task Force
Battles/wars	World War II Pacific War
George H. W. Bush delivers remarks on signing the Americans with Disabilities Act Recorded July 26, 1990

George Herbert Walker Bush^[a] (June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018) was an American politician, diplomat, businessman, and statesman. He was the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Before becoming president, he was the 43rd vice president under Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party.

He is the father of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States and Jeb Bush, the 43rd governor of Florida.

Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He attended Phillips Academy before serving in the United States Navy Reserve during World War II. After the war, he graduated from Yale and moved to Texas, starting a successful oil company.

He entered politics in the 1960s, first running for the US Senate in 1964, but lost the election. In 1966, he ran for the House of Representatives and won. Five years later, in 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed Bush to become the Ambassador of the United Nations, then chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973. In 1974, President Gerald Ford appointed him as Chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China, then in 1976 Bush became the Director of Central Intelligence. In 1980, Bush ran for president, but lost the nomination to Ronald Reagan. However, Reagan chose Bush to be his vice presidential running mate.

Eight years later, in 1988, Bush ran for president again, defeating Democrat Michael Dukakis. During his presidency, Bush led the United States through the end of the Cold War. He presided over the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War. He also signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which did not allow discrimination to disabled people. Bush signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (also called NAFTA), which went into effect in 1994. He appointed David Souter and Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Although he promised not to raise taxes, he did so in order to help make the budget deficit smaller (when the government spends more money than it makes.) He ran for reelection in 1992, but lost to Democrat Bill Clinton.

After his presidency ended in 1993, Bush did activities that helped other people. He did this alongside Bill Clinton, his former rival. In 2000, his son, George W. Bush, was elected president of the United States. Another son, Jeb Bush, was elected governor of Florida in 1998. Jeb tried to run for president in 2016, but did not win the nomination.

On November 25, 2017, Bush became, at the time, the longest-lived U.S. president. He passed the 93 years and 165 days lifespan of Gerald Ford, who died on December 26, 2006. On November 30, 2018, Bush died at his home in Houston, Texas at the age of 94. Bush is ranked as an above-average president by historians.
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