George W. Bush | Biography, Presidency, & Facts | Britannica (2024)

43rd president of the United States

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Also known as: George Walker Bush

Written by

Brian Duignan Brian Duignan is a senior editor at Encyclopædia Britannica. His subject areas include philosophy, law, social science, politics, political theory, and religion.

Brian Duignan

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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Quick Facts

In full:
George Walker Bush
Born:
July 6, 1946, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. (age 78)
Title / Office:
presidency of the United States of America (2001-2009), United States
governor (1995-2001), Texas
Political Affiliation:
Republican Party
Notable Family Members:
spouse Laura Welch Bush
father George H. W. Bush
mother Barbara Bush
brother Jeb Bush
Role In:
Afghanistan War
Strategic Arms Reduction Talks
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
Homeland Security Act
No Child Left Behind Act

See all related content →

Top Questions

What was George W. Bush’s family like?

George W. Bush was the eldest of six children ofGeorge H.W. Bush, who served as the 41st president of the United States (1989–93), andBarbara Bush. His paternal grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U.S. senator from Connecticut (1952–63).

Where was George W. Bush educated?

From 1961 to 1964 George W. Bush attendedPhillips AcademyinAndover,Massachusetts, the boarding school from which his father, George H.W. Bush, had graduated. Hereceived a bachelor’s degree in history fromYale University, his father’s and grandfather’s alma mater, in 1968 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1975.

What did George W. Bush accomplish?

A U.S. president, George W. Bush initiated what he called the “war on terrorism,” portrayed as an American-led global counterterrorism campaign launched in response to theterrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Included were the Afghanistan (2001–14) and Iraq (2003–11) wars. Also, his administration sponsored reforms of Medicare and the U.S. education system.

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George W. Bush (born July 6, 1946, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.) is the 43rd president of the United States (2001–09), who led his country’s response to the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and initiated the Iraq War in 2003. Narrowly winning the electoral college vote in 2000 over Vice Pres. Al Gore in one of the closest and most-controversial elections in American history, George W. Bush became the first person since Benjamin Harrison in 1888 to be elected president despite having lost the nationwide popular vote. Before his election as president, Bush was a businessman and served as governor of Texas (1995–2000).

Early life

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Bush was the eldest of six children of George H.W. Bush, who served as the 41st president of the United States (1989–93), and Barbara Bush. His paternal grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U.S. senator from Connecticut (1952–63). The younger Bush grew up largely in Midland and Houston, Texas. From 1961 to 1964 he attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, the boarding school from which his father had graduated. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University, his father’s and grandfather’s alma mater, in 1968. Bush was president of his fraternity and, like his father, a member of Yale’s secretive Skull and Bones society; unlike his father, he was only an average student and did not excel in athletics.

In May 1968, two weeks before his graduation from Yale and the expiration of his student draft deferment, Bush applied as a pilot trainee in the Texas Air National Guard, whose members were less likely than regular soldiers to fight in the Vietnam War. Commissioned a second lieutenant in July 1968, he became a certified fighter pilot in June 1970. In the fall of 1970, he applied for admission to the University of Texas law school but was rejected. Although Bush apparently missed at least eight months of duty between May 1972 and May 1973, he was granted an early discharge so that he could start Harvard Business School in the fall of 1973. His spotty military record resurfaced as a campaign issue in both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

After receiving an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1975, Bush returned to Midland, where he began working for a Bush family friend, an oil and gas attorney, and later started his own oil and gas firm. He married Laura Welch, a teacher and librarian, in Midland in 1977. After an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1978, Bush devoted himself to building his business. With help from his uncle, who was then raising funds for Bush’s father’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Bush was able to attract numerous prominent investors. The company struggled through the early 1980s until the eventual collapse of oil prices in 1986, when it was purchased by the Harken Energy Corporation. Bush received Harken stock, a job as a consultant to the company, and a seat on the company’s board of directors.

Britannica QuizU.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz

In the same year, shortly after his 40th birthday, Bush gave up drinking alcohol. “I realized,” he later explained, “that alcohol was beginning to crowd out my energies and could crowd, eventually, my affections for other people.” His decision was partly the result of a self-described spiritual awakening and a strengthening of his Christian faith that had begun the previous year, after a conversation with the Rev. Billy Graham, a Bush family friend.

After the sale of his company, Bush spent 18 months in Washington, D.C., working as an adviser and speechwriter in his father’s presidential campaign. Following the election in 1988, he moved to Dallas, where he and a former business partner organized a group of investors to purchase the Texas Rangers professional baseball team. Although Bush’s investment, which he made with a loan he obtained by using his Harken stock as collateral, was relatively small, his role as managing partner of the team brought him much exposure in the media and earned him a reputation as a successful businessman. When Bush’s partnership sold the team in 1998, Bush received nearly $15 million.

At a glance: the Bush presidency

George W. Bush | Biography, Presidency, & Facts | Britannica (2024)
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