George W. Bush

George W. Bush married Laura Welch, a former teacher and librarian, in Midland, Texas, in 1977. They had twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, in 1981.

In 1986, shortly after his 40th birthday, Bush gave up drinking alcohol following what he described as a spiritual awakening and a strengthening of his Christian faith. His evangelical Christian faith later became a prominent part of his public identity and political outlook.

George Walker Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the first son of George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush. He grew up largely in Midland and Houston, Texas, and attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, from 1961 to 1964. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Yale University in 1968 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1975.

Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard from 1968 to 1973 and became a certified fighter pilot in 1970. He remained in the United States during the Vietnam War and saw no combat. After Harvard, he returned to Midland and entered the oil industry, founding Arbusto Energy in 1977. He later became a managing partner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, a role that brought him significant public exposure before his political career.

Bush made his first run for public office in 1978, when he unsuccessfully sought a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He returned to electoral politics in 1994, defeating Democratic incumbent Ann Richards to become governor of Texas. He won reelection in 1998 with nearly 69 percent of the vote and became the first Texas governor elected to two consecutive four-year terms.

As governor, Bush promoted education reforms that tied teacher and administrator salaries and promotions to student performance on standardized tests. He also supported juvenile-justice measures, welfare initiatives, and tort reform. His political philosophy, which he called “compassionate conservatism,” helped establish his national profile and supported his campaign for the presidency.

Bush won the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 and faced Vice President Al Gore in the general election. The result hinged on Florida, where a contested recount led to weeks of litigation. In Bush v. Gore, the U.S. Supreme Court ended the recount process, and Bush won the Electoral College by 271 votes to 266 despite losing the nationwide popular vote. He became only the second son of a president to assume the presidency, after John Quincy Adams.

Bush entered office emphasizing tax cuts, education reform, and faith-based initiatives. His administration secured passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, expanded Pell Grants, and enacted the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which introduced prescription-drug benefits for seniors and created health savings accounts. His administration also pursued, unsuccessfully, a plan to partially privatize Social Security.

The September 11, 2001, attacks transformed the administration's priorities. Bush declared a worldwide “war on terrorism,” and the United States launched military operations in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in October 2001. In March 2003, the United States and Britain invaded Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's government. The Iraqi regime collapsed quickly, but sectarian violence followed, and no weapons of mass destruction were found.

Bush's counterterrorism policies included military tribunals, enhanced-interrogation techniques, and domestic communications surveillance. His administration also supported the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Homeland Security Council, and the position of Director of National Intelligence. In 2004, Bush defeated Senator John Kerry and won a second term. His second term included criticism over the response to Hurricane Katrina, debates over civil liberties, and the financial crisis and recession that intensified in 2008.

Bush returned to Texas as a private citizen on January 20, 2009. In 2010, he joined former president Bill Clinton in leading a relief fundraising effort for victims of the Haitian earthquake. His memoir, Decision Points, was published that year.

In 2013, Bush and Laura Bush dedicated the Bush Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, which houses the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Bush later wrote 41: A Portrait of My Father and Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors. He also produced paintings for the exhibition The Art of Leadership: A President’s Personal Diplomacy.

Through the George W. Bush Institute, Bush remains involved in public issues including education, global health, human freedom, and support for the military.