George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st President of the United States, holding office from 1989–1993. He was succeeded by Bill Clinton, who defeated him in 1992.
Before his presidency, George H.W. Bush held many positions, including Vice President of the U.S. in the administration of Ronald Reagan, who served from 1981–1989.
He 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 a naval aviator.
George Bush served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. Graduating in 1948, he moved his young family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by age 40.
He became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company, serving as a member of the House of Representatives.
He ran unsuccessfully for president in 1980, but was chosen by party nominee Ronald Reagan to be the vice presidential nominee.
During Reagan's tenure in office, Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting drug abuse.
In 1988, George H.W. Bush launched a successful campaign to succeed Reagan, defeating challenger Michael Dukakis.
Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency; operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later.
Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 promise not to raise taxes amidst a long struggle with Congress. In the wake of economic concerns and declining popularity, he lost the 1992 election to 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.
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