George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018) was an American politician and businessman who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Before he became president, he was the 43rd vice president from 1981 to 1989 (under the Ronald Reagan administration), an ambassador to the United Nations, a congressman, and Director of Central Intelligence. He was married to Barbara Bush from 1945 until her death in 2018. His children include the 43rd president of the United States George W. Bush, former governor of Florida Jeb Bush, and Dorothy Bush Koch. He was a Republican.
Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He attended Phillips Academy before serving in the United States Navy Reserve during World War II. After the war, he graduated from Yale and moved to Texas, starting a successful oil company.
He entered politics in the 1960s, first running for the US Senate in 1964, but lost the election. In 1966, he ran for the House of Representatives and won. Five years later, in 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed Bush to become the Ambassador of the United Nations, then chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973. In 1974, President Gerald Ford appointed him as Chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China, then in 1976 Bush became the Director of Central Intelligence. In 1980, Bush ran for president, but lost the nomination to Ronald Reagan. However, Reagan chose Bush to be his vice presidential running mate.
Eight years later, in 1988, Bush ran for president again, defeating Democrat Michael Dukakis. During his presidency, Bush led the United States through the end of the Cold War. He presided over the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War. He also signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which did not allow discrimination to disabled people. Bush signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (also called NAFTA), which went into effect in 1994. He appointed David Souter and Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Although he promised not to raise taxes, he did so in order to help make the budget deficit smaller (when the government spends more money than it makes.) He ran for reelection in 1992, but lost to Democrat Bill Clinton.
After his presidency ended in 1993, Bush did activities that helped other people. He did this alongside Bill Clinton, his former rival. In 2000, his son, George W. Bush, was elected president of the United States. Another son, Jeb Bush, was elected governor of Florida in 1998. Jeb tried to run for president in 2016, but did not win the nomination.
On November 25, 2017, Bush became, at the time, the longest-lived U.S. president. He passed the 93 years and 165 days lifespan of Gerald Ford, who died on December 26, 2006. On November 30, 2018, Bush died at his home in Houston, Texas at the age of 94. Bush is ranked as an above-average president.