Bush, George Herbert Walker
Bush, George Herbert Walker (1924– ) 41st US president (1989–93). Bush served as a fighter pilot during World War II. In 1966, he entered Congress as a representative of Texas. Under President Richard Nixon, he held several political offices, including ambassador (1971–73) to the United Nations. Under President Gerald Ford, Bush was head (1976–77) of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In 1980, after failing to secure the presidential nomination, he became vice president (1981–88) to Ronald Reagan. When Reagan retired, Bush gained the Republican nomination. In the 1988 presidential election, he easily defeated the challenge of Michael Dukakis. For many Americans, the collapse of Soviet communism was a vindication of the hawkish policies of the Reagan-Bush years. In 1989, the US military invaded Panama, and seized General Manuel Noriega. Iraq's invasion (1990) of Kuwait provided the first test of Bush's “new world order” and threatened America's oil supplies. The Allied forces, led by General Schwarzkopf, won the Gulf War (1991), but failed to remove Saddam Hussein. At home, Bush faced a stagnant economy, high unemployment, and a massive budget deficit, forcing him (1990) to break his election pledge and raise taxes. This factor, combined with a split in the conservative vote, led to a comfortable victory for his Democratic successor Bill Clinton.
http://tamu.edu; http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents
http://tamu.edu; http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents
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Bush, George Herbert Walker