Directory:George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924), was the forty-first President of the United States, serving from 1989 to 1993. Before his presidency, Bush was the forty-third Vice President of the United States in the administration of Ronald Reagan.

Bush was born in Massachusetts to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. He became involved in politics soon after graduating from Yale University, serving as a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 7th district of Texas (1967–1971), the United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1971–1973), chairman of the Republican National Committee (1973–1974), Chief of the United States Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China (1974–1976), and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1976–1977). After an unsuccessful 1980 presidential run, Bush was chosen by party nominee Ronald Reagan to be candidate for vice president. During his tenure (1981–1989), Bush was the first person ever to serve as Acting President of the United States.

In 1989, Bush succeeded Reagan as president, defeating challenger Michael Dukakis. He 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.

Early years

George Herbert Walker Bush was born at 173 Adams Street in Milton, Massachusetts on June 12, 1924. The Bush family moved from Milton to Greenwich, Connecticut shortly after his birth.

George began his formal education at the Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich. Beginning in 1936, Bush attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he held a large number of leadership positions including being the president of the senior class and 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 both the varsity baseball and soccer teams.

World War II

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Bush decided that he wanted to join the US Navy. He did just that on his 18th birthday, after graduating from Phillips Academy earlier in 1942, and become a naval aviator. After completing the 10-month course, he was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve at Corpus Christi, Texas on June 9, 1943, just three days before his 19th birthday, which made him the youngest naval aviator to that date.

He was assigned to Torpedo Squadron (VT-51) as the photographic officer in September 1943. The following year, his squadron was based on the USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) as a member of Air Group 51. During this time, the task force was victorious in one of the largest air battles of World War II: the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

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George Bush in his TBM Avenger on the carrier USS San Jacinto in 1944

After Bush's promotion to lieutenant junior grade on August 1, the San Jacinto commenced operations against the Japanese in the Bonin Islands. Bush piloted one of four Grumman TBM Avenger aircraft from VT-51 that attacked the Japanese installations on ChiChi Jima island. His crew for the mission, which occured on September 2, 1944, included Radioman Second Class John Delaney and Lieutenant Junior Grade William White. During their attack, the Avengers encountered intense antiaircraft fire; Bush's aircraft was hit by flak and his engine caught on fire. Despite his plane being on fire, Bush completed his attack and released bombs over his target, scoring several damaging hits. With his engine afire, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft; the other man's parachute did not open. It has not been determined which man bailed out with Bush; both Delaney and White were killed in action. The crew of three fellow planes that had been shot down were cannibalised by the Japanese. Bush waited for four hours in an inflated raft, while several fighters circled protectively overhead until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS Finback. For the next month he remained on the Finback, and participated in the rescue of other pilots.

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Captain-elect "Poppy" Bush as featured in a 1948 Yale Banner

The Lieutenant Jr. grade subsequently returned to San Jacinto in November 1944 and participated in operations in the Philippines until his squadron was replaced and sent home to the United States. Through 1944, Bush flew 58 combat missions for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit Citation.

Because of his valuable combat experience, Bush was reassigned to Norfolk Navy Base and put in a training wing for new torpedo pilots. He was later assigned as a naval aviator in a new torpedo squadron, VT-153. Upon the Japanese surrender in 1945, Bush was honorably discharged in September 1945.

Marriage and college years

George Bush married Barbara Pierce on January 6, 1945, only weeks after his return from the war. Their marriage produced six children: George Walker Bush (born 1946), Pauline Robinson Bush ("Robin", 1949–1953, died of leukemia), John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born 1953), Neil Mallon Bush (born 1955), Marvin Bush (born 1956), and Dorothy Bush Koch (born 1959).

Bush had been accepted to Yale University prior to his enlistment in the military, but decided to fight in World War II instead of going to college. He took up the offer after his discharge and marriage, however. While at Yale, he was enrolled in an accelerated program that allowed him to graduate in two and a half years, rather than four. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was elected president. He also captained the Yale baseball team, and as a left-handed first baseman, played in the first two College World Series; as the team captain, Bush met Babe Ruth before a game his senior year. Late in his junior year he was, like his father Prescott Bush (1917), tapped for membership by the Skull and Bones secret society. He graduated as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity from Yale in 1948 with a Bachelor's degree in economics.

Oil ventures

After graduating from Yale, Bush moved his young family to West Texas. His father's business connections proved useful when he ventured into the oil business, starting as a sales clerk with Dresser Industries, a subsidiary of Brown Brothers Harriman, where his father served on the board of directors for 22 years. Bush started the Bush-Overby Oil Deveopment company in 1951 and confounded the Zapata Petroleum Corporation, an oil company which drilled in the Permian base in Texas, in 1953; he was named president of the Zapata Offshore Company, a subsidiary which specialized in offshore drilling the following year. The subsidiary became independent in 1958, so Bush moved the company from Midland, Texas to Houston. He continued serving as president of the company until 1964, and later chairman until 1966, but his ambitions turned political. By that time, Bush had become a millionaire.

Early political career

Congressional years

Bush served as Chairman of the Republican Party for Harris County, Texas in 1964, but wanted to be more involved in policy making, so he set his stakes high: he aimed for a US Senate seat from Texas. After winning the Republican primary, Bush faced his opponent, incumbent Democrat Ralph Yarborough. Yarborough made several personal attacks against Bush, calling him a "tool of the eastern kingmakers" and a right-wing extremist. Bush lost the general election.

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Bush with President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Bush did not give up on elective politics and was elected in 1966 to a House of Representatives seat from the 7th District of Texas, defeating Democrat Frank Briscoe with 57% of the vote; Bush was the first Republican to represent Houston. His voting record in the House was generally conservative Bush opposed the public accomodations contention in the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and supported open-housing legislation, something generally unpopular in his district; he supported the Nixon administration's Vietnam policies, but broke with Republicans on the issue of birth control. Despite being a first-term congressman, Bush was appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, where he voted to abolish the military draft. He was elected to a second term in 1968.

In 1970, President Nixon convinced Bush to relinquish his House seat to again run for the Senate against Democratic Senator Ralph Yarborough, a fierce Nixon critic. In the Republican primary, Bush easily defeated conservative Robert Morris, by a margin of 87.6% to 12.4%. However, former Congressman Lloyd Bentsen, a more moderate Democrat and native of Mission, Texas, defeated Yarborough in the Democratic primary. Yarborough then endorsed Bentsen. With Yarborough defeated in the primary, Nixon's support for Bush's campaign waned. Because there was no presidential election in 1970, turnout in Texas was unusually low in the general election. Bentsen defeated Bush with 54%, to Bush's 43%.

1970s

Ambassador to the United Nations

Following his 1970 loss, Bush was well known as a prominent Republican businessman from the "Sun Belt", a group of states in the Southern part of the country; President Richard Nixon noticed and appreciated the sacrifice Bush had made of his Congressional position, so he appointed him Ambassador to the United Nations. Although heavily criticized for having little foreign policy experience, Bush was confirmed unanimously by the Senate, and served for two years, beginning in 1971.

Chairman of the Republican National Committee

Amidst the Watergate scandal, Nixon asked Bush to become chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973. Bush accepted, and held this position when the popularity of both Nixon and the Republican Party plummeted. He defended Nixon steadfastly, but later as Nixon's complicity became clear, Bush focused more on defending the Republican Party, while still maintaining loyalty to Nixon. As the UN ambassador, Bush formally requested that Richard Nixon eventually resign for the good of the Republican party. President Nixon did just that on August 9, 1974; Bush noted in his diary that "There was an aura of sadness, like somebody died... The [resignation] speech was vintage Nixon — a kick or two at the press — enormous strains. One couldn't help but look at the family and the whole thing and think of his accomplishments and then think of the shame... [Ford's swearing-in offered] indeed a new spirit, a new lift."

Envoy to China

Gerald Ford, Nixon's successor, appointed Bush to be Chief of the US Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China (since the United States at the time maintained official relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan and not the People's Republic of China, the Liaison Office did not have the official status of an embassy and Bush did not formally hold the position of "ambassador", though he unofficially acted as one). The time that he spent in China — 14 months — were seen as largely beneficial for US-Chinese relations.

Director of Central Intelligence

In 1976, Ford brought Bush back to Washington to become Director of Central Intelligence. Initially, Bush's confirmation as director was opposed by many pundits and politicians still reeling from the Watergate scandal. After a pledge by Bush not to run for either president or vice president in 1976, opposition to his nomination died down.

Bush served in this role for 355 days, from January 30, 1976 to January 20, 1977. The CIA had been rocked by a series of revelations, including those based on investigations by the Senate's Church Committee about the CIA's illegal and unauthorized activities, and Bush was credited with helping to restore the agency's morale. In his capacity as DCI, Bush gave national security briefings to Jimmy Carter both as a Presidential candidate and as President-elect, and discussed the possibility of remaining in that position in a Carter administration but it was not to be.

Other postions

After a Democratic administration took power in 1977, Bush became chairman on the Executive Committe of the First International Bank in Houston. He later spent a year as an adjunct professor of Administrative Science at Rice University in the Jones School of Business beginning in 1978, the year it opened; Bush said of his time there, "I loved my brief time in the world of academia."

1980 presidential campaign and vice presidency

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Bush with President Ronald Reagan

In the 1980 presidential election, Bush ran for the presidency, stressing his wide range of government experience. In the contest for the Republican Party nomination, despite Bush's establishment backing, the front-runner was Ronald Reagan, former actor and governor of California who was running for his third presidential bid.

In the primary election, Bush represented the centrist wing in the GOP, whereas Reagan represented the conservative wing. He labeled Reagan's supply side-influenced plans for massive tax cuts "voodoo economics." During the election, Reagan once famously described Bush as a "Brooks Brothers Republican," in response to which Bush opened his jacket at a press conference, smiling, to reveal a J. Press logo. Bush won the Iowa caucus to start the primary season, then told the press that he had "Big Mo" (or momentum). However, Reagan came back to decisively win the New Hampshire primary, and Bush's "mo" subsided. With a growing popularity among the Republican voting base, Reagan won most of the remaining primaries as well as the nomination.

After some preliminary discussion of choosing former President Gerald Ford as his running mate, Reagan selected Bush as his Vice Presidential nominee, placing him on the winning Republican presidential ticket of 1980.

Four years later, the Reagan-Bush ticket won again in a landslide in against the Democrats' Walter Mondale-Geraldine Ferraro ticket.

During his second term as Vice President, Bush became the first Vice President to become Acting President when, on July 13, 1985, President Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon. Bush served as Acting President for approximately eight hours.

When the Iran-Contra Affair broke in 1986, Bush, like the President, stated that he had been "out of the loop" and unaware of the Iran initiatives related to arms trading.

1988 presidential campaign

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The 1988 presidential electoral votes by state

In 1988, after nearly eight years as Vice President, Bush again ran for President. His challengers for the Republican presidential nomination included U.S. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, U.S. Representative Jack Kemp of New York, former Governor Pete DuPont of Delaware, and conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson.

Though considered the early frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Bush came in third in the Iowa caucus, beaten by winner Dole and runner-up Robertson. However, Bush rebounded to win the New Hampshire primary, perhaps partly because of television commercials portraying Dole as a tax raiser. Once the multiple-state primaries such as Super Tuesday began, Bush's organizational strength and fundraising lead were impossible for the other candidates to match, and the nomination was his.

Leading up to the 1988 Republican National Convention, there was much speculation as to Bush's choice of running mate. In a move anticipated by few, Bush chose little-known U.S. Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana. On the eve of the convention, Bush trailed Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, then Massachusetts governor, by double digits in most polls.

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Bush campaigns in Omaha, Nebraska, 1988

Bush, often criticized for his lack of eloquence when compared to Reagan, surprised many by giving perhaps the best speech of his public career, widely known as the "Thousand points of light" speech for his use of that phrase to describe his vision of American community. The New Orleans convention, pushed strongly by Louisiana National Committeewoman Virginia Martinez, was the first GOP conclave ever held in the Deep South. Bush's acceptance speech and a generally well-managed convention catapulted him ahead of Dukakis in the polls, and he held the lead for the rest of the race. Bush's acceptance speech at the convention included the famous pledge: Read my lips: no new taxes.

Bush blamed Dukakis for polluting the Boston Harbor as the Massachusetts governor. Bush also pointed out that Dukakis was opposed to the law that would require all students to say the pledge of allegiance. Another, produced and placed by an independent group supporting Bush, referred to murderer Willie Horton, a man who had committed a rape and assault while on a weekend furlough from a life sentence being served in Massachusetts.

Dukakis's unconditional opposition to capital punishment also led to a pointed question during the U.S. presidential debates. Moderator Bernard Shaw asked Dukakis hypothetically if Dukakis would support the death penalty if his wife were raped and murdered. Dukakis's response appeared to many oddly wooden and technical, and contributed toward the characterization of him as "soft on crime." These images helped enhance Bush's stature as a possible Commander-in-Chief compared to the Massachusetts governor.

Bush beat Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen soundly in the Electoral College, by 426 to 111 (Bentsen received one vote). In the nationwide popular vote, Bush took 53.4% of the ballots cast while Dukakis received 45.6%. Bush was the first serving Vice President to be elected President since Martin Van Buren in 1836.

Presidency 1989-1993

Template:Seealso President Bush was inaugurated on January 20, 1989. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet Union came early in his presidency. That combined with military successes in Panama and the Persian Gulf led to a record-high approval rating of 89%. However economic recession and breaking his "No New Taxes" pledge caused a sharp decline in his approval rating, and Bush was defeated in the 1992 election.

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Chief Justice William Rehnquist administering the oath of office to Bush during Inaugural ceremonies at the United States Capitol, January 20, 1989.

Foreign policy

Foreign policy drove the Bush Presidency from its first days. In his Inaugural Address, Bush said, "I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise. We live in a peaceful, prosperous time, but we can make it better. For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree. A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken."

Leading up to the first Gulf War, on September 11, 1990, President Bush addressing a joint session of Congress stated: "Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective — a New World Order — can emerge: a new era"

With these words President Bush gave the order to start the military action which would later be known as the Gulf War.

Panama

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Operation Just Cause was the U.S. military invasion of Panama that deposed General Manuel Noriega in December 1989. Involving an expeditionary force of 25,000 troops and state-of-the-art military equipment, the invasion was a large American military operation. General Manuel Noriega was at one time a U.S. ally, who was increasingly using Panama to facilitate the drug traffic from South America to the United States. In the 1980s, dictator Manuel Noriega was one of the most recognizable names in the United States, being constantly covered by the press. The deteriorating situation in Panama was a growing embarrassment for the Reagan Administration, which President Bush inherited. The military implementation took place under supervision of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Colin Powell who—as National Security Advisor for President Reagan—knew well the Panama situation and dictator Noriega. The invasion was preceded by massive protests in Panama against Noriega. Bush's Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney visited American troops in Panama right after the invasion. President Bush visited Panama with his wife in June 1992, to give support to the first post-invasion Panamanian government.

Gulf War

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President Bush visited American troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990

As President, Bush is perhaps best known internationally for leading the United Nations coalition in the 1990–1991 Gulf War. In 1990, Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein invaded its oil-rich neighbor to the south, Kuwait. The broad coalition, in an operation known as Desert Shield, sought to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait and ensure that Iraq did not invade Saudi Arabia. Bush summed up his position succinctly when he said, "This aggression will not stand," and, "This is not a war for oil. This is war against aggression." On November 29, the UN passed a resolution establishing a deadline that authorized the nations allied with Kuwait 'to use all necessary means' if Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, 1991. Fighting began on January 17, 1991, when U.S.-led air units launched a devastating series of air attacks against Iraq, with this operation referred to as Desert Storm. On February 24, coalition ground troops attacked Iraq, and on February 26, Iraqi forces began retreating from Kuwait. Coalition troops pursued the retreating Iraqi troops into Iraq, to within 150 miles (240 km) of Baghdad before withdrawing. President Bush declared a cease-fire on February 27.

In a foreign policy move that would later be questioned, President Bush achieved his stated objectives of liberating Kuwait and forcing Iraqi withdrawal, then ordered a cessation of combat operations —allowing Saddam Hussein to stay in power. Bush later explained that he did not give the order to overthrow the Iraqi government because it would have "incurred incalculable human and political costs... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq".

Post-Soviet breakup

Template:See also After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev declared a U.S.-Soviet strategic partnership at the summit that July, marking the end of the Cold War. President Bush declared that U.S.-Soviet cooperation during the Persian Gulf War in 1990–1991 had laid the groundwork for a partnership in resolving bilateral and world problems.

• Malta Summit
• Arms control: START I, Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction

NAFTA

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From left to right: (standing) President Carlos Salinas, President Bush, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; (seated) Jaime Serra Puche, Carla Hills, and Michael Wilson at the NAFTA Initialing Ceremony, October 1992

Bush's government, along with the Progressive Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, spearheaded the negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Bush's primary negotiator was Trade Secretary Carla Anderson Hills. While initial signing was possible during his term, negotiations made slow but steady progress during Bush's term. President Clinton would go on to make the passage of NAFTA a priority for his administration, despite its conservative and Republican roots — with the addition of two side agreements — to achieve its passage in 1993.

Pardons

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The official White House portrait of President George H.W Bush

As other Presidents have done, Bush issued a series of pardons during his last days in office. On December 24, 1992, he pardoned six former government employees implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal - most prominently former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Weinberger had been scheduled to stand trial on January 5, 1993, for lying to Congress regarding his knowledge of arms sales to Iran and concealing 1700 pages of his personal diary detailing discussions with other officials about the arms sales.

As Weinberger's private notes contained references to Bush's endorsement of the secret shipments to Iran, some believe that Bush's pardon was an effort to prevent an order for Bush to appear before a grand jury or possibly to avoid an indictment. Weinberger's indictment stated that Weinberger's notes contradicted Bush's assertions that he had only peripheral knowledge of the arms for hostages deal. Lawrence Walsh, the Independent Counsel assigned to the case, charged that "the Iran-contra cover-up, which has continued for more than six years, has now been completed." Walsh likened the pardons to President Richard Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre. Bush responded that the Walsh probe constituted an attempt to criminalize a policy dispute between the legislative and executive branches. In addition to Weinberger, Bush pardoned Duane R. Clarridge, Clair E. George, Robert C. McFarlane, Elliott Abrams, and Alan G. Fiers Jr., all of whom had been indicted and/or convicted of charges by the Independent Counsel. He is also known to have given executive clemency to Aslam P. Adam, a convicted heroin dealer.

Orlando Bosch, an anti-Castro terrorist convicted of firing a bazooka at a Polish freighter in Miami harbor, was released from detention by Bush, but never formally pardoned.

1992 re-election campaign

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The 1992 presidential electoral votes by state

The tail end of the late 1980s recession, that had plagued most of Bush's term in office, was a contributing factor to his defeat in the 1992 Presidential election to Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas. The coalition victory in the Persian Gulf War led to a feeling that Bush's re-election was almost assured, but the economic recession coupled with a perceived failure to end the war properly reduced his popularity. Bush was also perceived as being "out of touch" with the American worker. One incident that was said to lend credence to this suspicion occurred during a technology trade show in which Bush appeared "amazed" upon seeing a demonstration of a supermarket scanner. However, Andrew Rosenthal, the reporter who broke the story was not present during the demonstration. He had relied on his own interpretation of a pool report by Gregg McDonald. The New York Times stood by its interpretation of the event, but Newsweek and Mark Duffy of Time Magazine, as well as the man who demonstrated the product for Bush, all took issue with Rosenthal's characterization. Nevertheless, media outlets reported the story as it tied in with and supported the notion that the president was out of touch with the common man.

Several other factors were key in his defeat, including agreeing in 1990 to raise taxes despite his famous "Read my lips: no new taxes" pledge not to institute any new taxes. In doing so, Bush alienated many members of his conservative base, losing their support for his re-election. Bush raised taxes in an attempt to address an ever-increasing budget deficit, which some attributed to the Reagan tax cuts and military spending of the 1980s. George Bush had been supported in 1988 by conservatives to continue the Reagan revolution, and was seen as a failure in this regard. Ironically, Bush had previously admonished Reagan's supply side tax cuts in the 1980 presidential primary when he referred to Reagan's tax proposals as "voodoo economics."

Ross Perot won 19% of the popular vote, the highest total for a third-party candidate since Theodore Roosevelt on the ticket of the Bull-Moose Party. In early 1992 a Gallup poll found the President's approval rating to be at an all-time low, 29%. Despite his defeat, George H. W. Bush left office in 1993 with a 56% job approval rating.

Supreme Court appointments

Bush appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:

• David Souter – 1990
• Clarence Thomas – 1991

Post-Presidency

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The George Bush Presidential Library

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Bush, along with George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, and Andrew Card pay their respects to Pope John Paul II before the pope's funeral

Since his 1992 election campaign, Bush has retired with his wife, Barbara, at their home in the exclusive neighborhood of Tanglewood in Houston, with a presidential office nearby. They spend the summer at Walker's Point in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush holds his own fishing tournament in Islamorada, an island in the Florida Keys.

In 1993, Bush was awarded an honorary knighthood (GCB) by Queen Elizabeth II. He was the third American president to receive the honor, the others being Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan. His eldest son, George W. Bush, was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20, 2001; prior to that, he was generally known as or 'George Bush' or 'President Bush'. Since that date, however, he has usually been distinguished from his son by the use of his two middle initials.

Presidential library

Template:Main The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library named for Bush. This tenth presidential library was built between 1995 and 1997 and contains the presidential and vice-presidential papers of George H.W. Bush and the vice-presidential papers of Dan Quayle. It was dedicated on November 6, 1997 and opened to the public shortly thereafter; the complex was designed by the architectural firm of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on a ninety-acre site on the west campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The Library and Museum is situated on a plaza adjoining the Presidential Conference Center and the Texas A&M Academic Center. It operates under the administration of the NARA under the provisions of the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955.

An another institute was named in his honor: the George Bush School of Government and Public Service is a graduate public policy school at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The graduate school is part of the presidential library complex, and offers four programs: two master's degree programs (Public Service Administration and International Affairs) and two certificate programs (Advanced International Affairs and Homeland Security). The Masters Program in International Affairs (MPIA) program offers a choice of concentration on either National Security Affairs or International Economics and Development.

Recent activities

The former president continues to make many public appearances. He and Mrs. Bush attended the state funeral of Ronald Reagan in June 2004, and of Gerald Ford in January 2007. One month later, he was awarded the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award in Beverly Hills, California by former First Lady Nancy Reagan. Bush was also present in various ceremonies during the construction of the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), which is the last Nimitz class supercarrier of the United States Navy, and one of the few that are named after persons that are living at the time of the vessel's christening.

On February 18, 2008, Bush formally endorsed Senator John McCain for the presidency of the United States. "Few men walking among us have sacrificed so much in the cause of human freedom," the former president said, adding that McCain has "the right values and experience to guide our nation forward at this historic moment." The endorsement offered a boost to McCain's campaign, as the Arizona Senator had been facing criticism among many conservatives; Bush called the criticism "an unfair attack", adding that McCain has "a sound conservative record, but not above reaching out to the other side."

Further reading

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External links

• Bush Presidential Library and Museum
• White House biography
• Template:Gutenberg author Note: Contains only Bush's 1990 State of the Union address
• Template:CongBio
• Essays on Bush and His Administration
• George H. W. Bush Speeches

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