George HW Bush was the 41st US President, with a record of service dating back decades. He served in the Navy during WWII, was elected to the House of Representatives, and was appointed Director of Central Intelligence. He served as Vice President under Reagan and won the presidency in 1988. His presidency was marked by the Gulf War, the dissolution of the USSR, and support for NAFTA. Since retiring, he has been involved in human rights causes.
Born June 12, 1924, George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st president of the United States of America, with a record of service to the country dating back several decades. Here is an overview of the life of George HW Bush.
After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, George HW Bush entered Yale University, where he was elected president of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Bush was also active in the varsity baseball program and has the honor of playing in the first College World Series. Along with sports and academic achievements, Bush was also accepted as a member of the Skull and Bones secret society.
Graduating from Yale in 1948, George HW Bush spent some time in private industry but began to make his mark when he entered politics. Although his early efforts were unsuccessful, Bush was elected to represent the Seventh District of Texas in the United States House of Representatives in 1966. During his time in this role, Bush was appointed to the House Ways and Means.
During the 1970s George HW Bush’s national political career flourished. Serving as United States Ambassador to the United Nations during the first term of Richard Nixon’s presidency, Bush was asked to take over as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1972. During the Watergate scandal, George Bush faced a loss of popularity for the Republican Party.
In 1976, George HW Bush was appointed Director of Central Intelligence by President Gerald Ford. Both Bush and Republican Party detractors were surprised by the nomination, with a number of media outlets and political opponents saying Bush lacked the ability to tackle the job with a bipartisan stance. Despite the opposition, Bush was able to steer the agency through a difficult period in which questions of his past and present methods were tightly scrutinized.
Although plans were made for Bush to run for president in the 1980 election, he was ultimately turned away by Ronald Reagan for the party’s nomination. Bush was offered the chance to run for vice president on Reagan’s ticket and accepted. The end result was that the election results were a victory for the Reagan/Bush ticket. The combination of Reagan as President of the United States and Bush as Vice President was again placed on the ballot for the 1984 election and won by a landslide.
The television campaigns for the 1988 election were often very negative from all candidates. George Bush Sr.’s high profile made it easy for opponents to attack his record, but the Bush campaign was also noted for using whatever information he could verify about opponents. Eventually, George HW Bush became President Bush, with many feeling he was able to achieve the goal based on his campaign promise of no new taxes.
Bush’s famous Thousand Points of Light speech described his vision for the country and the role of all citizens in realizing that vision. The strength of his acceptance speech at the Republican convention helped set the tone for the rest of the campaign and stayed with him well into his election as America’s 41st president.
George HW Bush served one term as President of the United States. Between 1989 and 1993, Bush faced a series of issues that have marked him in the history of American presidents. The Bush administration issued the order that allowed the United States to enter the first Gulf War, with the United States leading a coalition of United Nations forces in the dispute. The collective detachment, known as Desert Storm, sought to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait and also to prevent the Iraqis from invading Saudi Arabia. With his stated goal of ensuring Kuwait’s security achieved, Bush began withdrawing American troops without addressing Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government, a move that would later be questioned by many different people.
Another controversial action was Bush’s support for the formation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. While NAFTA would not become a reality until the presidency of Bill Clinton, Bush worked closely with Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to lay the groundwork and do much of the preparation for the deal.
George HW Bush also holds the honor of being in office at the time of the dissolution of the USSR and the end of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet state. Cooperation between the two countries during the Gulf War is sometimes cited as one of the factors that made the end of the Cold War possible.
Since retiring from the political arena following his term as president, George HW Bush has lent his name and influence to a variety of human rights causes both in the United States and abroad.
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