George H. W. Bush

George Bush

George Bush was Reagan's hand-picked successor. He came to the Presidency with an impressive resume of foreign policy achievements, all of which he used in the diplomacy leading up to the war to liberate Kuwait.. Elected 1988

The Early Years

George Herbert Walker Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts. He grew up in the wealthy New York suburb of Greenwhich, Connecticut, where he attended Greenwhich Country Day School. At the age of 13, he enrolled at Phillips Academy. On June 12, 1942, his 18th birthday, Bush enlisted in the U.S. Navy, becoming the Navy's youngest pilot at the time. He flew 58 combat missions against Japanese targets during World War II and was shot down once, later being rescued by a submarine.

After the war, Bush attended Yale University, where he graduated in 1948.

Bush decided to venture into the oil business in Texas, and his efforts were successful.

In 1966, Bush ran for Congress as a representative from the Houston area and was elected. While in Congress, he supported the Vietnam War and voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1968, a decision that was unpopular in his district. In 1970, Bush ran unsuccessfully for the Senate. However, in 1971, President Nixon appointed him as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. From 1973 to 1974, he served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

In 1974, President Ford appointed Bush as the head of the U.S. Liaison Office in China, essentially making him the U.S. Ambassador to China. From 1976 to 1977, Bush served as Director of the CIA.

In 1979, he began an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination for President, losing to Ronald Reagan. From 1981 to 1989, Bush served as Vice President under Reagan, where he played an active role in the administration.

Accomplishments in Office

George Bush's Presidency was marked by activist President in foreign affairs while being a mostly passive President in the area of domestic policy. Bush's greatest success was his stewardship in foreign affairs that helped the transition from a bipolar world, with the United States and the Soviet Union in confrontation, to one in which the Soviet Union had fallen apart, and the United States was the only superpower. Bush displayed his skill in foreign affairs as he built an international coalition to oppose the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. He led that coalition to victory over the Iraqis.

In domestic affairs, President Bush's actions were severely limited by the conservative mandate that he inherited from President Reagan. His own more liberal orientation left him with no clear policy on many domestic issues. Bush lost reelection in 1992 to Bill Clinton. He lived to be the first President to see his son become President when George W Bush was elected to the Presidency in 2000. He led a very active life after his Presidency, skydiving on his big birthdays through the age of 90. Geoge Bush died on November 30th, 2018.

Secretary of State: James Baker Lawrence Eagleburger Secretary of Treasury: Nicholas Brady Secretary of Defense: Dick Cheney Attorney General: Dick Thornburgh William Barr Secretary of the Interior: Manuel Lujan Secretary of Agriculture: Clayton Yeutter Edward Madigan Secretary of Commerce: Robert Mosbacher Barbara Hackman Franklin Secretary of Labor: Elizabeth Dole Lynn Martin Secretary of Health and Human Services: Louis Sullivan Secretary of Education: Lauro Cavazos Lamar Alexander Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Jack Kemp Secretary of Transportation: Samuel Skinner Andrew Card Secretary of Energy: James Watkins Secretary of Veterans Affairs Ed Derwinski

Second President to have a son who became President

First President to have one son a President and another a governor at the same time