George H.W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush, was the 41st President of the United States (1989–1993). Before his presidency, Bush held a multitude of political positions, including being the 43rd Vice President of the United States in the administration of Ronald Reagan (1981–1989).

Bush was born in Massachusetts to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, at the age of 18, Bush postponed going to college and became the youngest naval aviator in US history. He served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. Graduating from in 1948, he moved his young family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.

He became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company, serving as a member of the House of Representatives, among other positions. He ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States in 1980, but was chosen by party nominee Ronald Reagan to be the vice presidential nominee; the two were subsequently elected. During his tenure, Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting drug abuse.

In 1988, Bush launched a successful campaign to succeed Reagan as president, defeating challenger Michael Dukakis. Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency; successful operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf at a time of world change; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later. Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise and raised taxes amidst a struggle with Congress. In the wake of economic concerns, he lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton.

Bush is the father of George W. Bush, the 43rd and current President of the United States, and Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida. Upon the death of Gerald Ford in 2006, Bush became the oldest living United States president.