George Bush was the 41st President of the United States. President Bush was the first sitting vice president to ascend to the presidency since 1837, and he was also only the second American president to serve a full term without party control in either chamber of Congress.
After leaving office, President Bush has helped to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity. He served from 2006 to 2008 as Chairman of the National Constitution Center and received the Liberty Medal in September of 2006. He took an active role in the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, and the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, both located on the campus of Texas A&M University.
President Bush worked with President Bill Clinton to help raise funds to aid in the relief efforts following the catastrophic tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast states. In 2006, he served as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Envoy for the South Asia earthquake. Following the destruction caused by Hurricane Ike on the Gulf Coast in September of 2008, President Bush again joined with President Clinton to form the Bush-Clinton Gulf Coast Recovery Fund to aid in the reconstruction of Gulf Coast infrastructure.
Born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Mass., George Bush became a decorated naval pilot who flew torpedo bombers during World War II. In 1944, he was shot down over the island of Chi Chi Jima and rescued. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University in 1948 with a degree in economics, he and his wife Barbara moved to Texas, where he began making his way in the oil business. President Bush’s career in politics and public service began in 1963, when he was elected chairman of the Harris County (Texas) Republican Party. He was elected in 1966 to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas’ Seventh District and served two terms. Before serving as vice president from 1981 to 1989 under Ronald Reagan, President Bush held a number of senior-level positions, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in China, and Director of Central Intelligence.
