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 eorge Herbert Walker Bush
was born on June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts. His
father Prescott Sheldon Bush was a bank manager who was
elected senator in 1952. His mother is Dorothy Walker Bush.
George Bush grew up in a family atmosphere with his three
brothers and his sister at Greenwich, Connecticut, a suburb
of New York, before studying in one of the best private
boarding schools of the country. When George Bush received
his degree from the Phillips Academy of Andover,
Massachusetts, he was already admitted at Yale, but the
United States entered into the Second World War. George Bush
joined the Navy and at the age of eighteen and became the
youngest naval pilot (from 1942 to 1945). Thus according all
evidence, he was the last President of the United States to
have fought during the Second World War. In September 2,
1944, during his 58th mission, his aircraft was shot down by
the enemy over Chichi Jima island. Fours hours later, he was
rescued in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by the crew of
the U.S.S. Finback, an American submarine,
to whom he owes his life. He was decorated with the
Distinguished Flying Cross and sent back home. A few months
before the end of World War Two he married Barbara Pierce of
Rye (New York) on January 6, 1945. He entered Yale and
outshone in both at academics and Baseball. When he left in
1948, George Bush moved from New England to Midland, Texas,
after having refused a post in his father's company. At
Texas, he worked for Dresser Industries. The old family
silver he had served him to create an oil company named
Zapata in 1954, which made him rich. In 1959, he settled
down in Houston.
Mr. and Mrs.
Bush had six children. They are George, Robin (who died of
leukemia in 1953), John, Neil, Marvin and Dorothy. Fortune
and family well settled, "Poppy" (Bush's nickname) turned,
like his father, toward politics within the ranks of the
Republican party which was almost nonexistent in the South.
In 1964, he became the President of the Republican party in
Harris and the same year, he campaigned for the Senate but
without success. After his initial failure, he tried again
in 1966 at the House of Representatives in the 7th district
of Houston. He was elected and re-elected in 1968 and
convinced his friend Baker to join the Republican party.
James Baker turned out to be an outstanding campaign
organizer when George Bush was aiming to get into the Senate
in 1970. It was a failure, but the beginning of a long and
lasting friendship. During this time, he had no elective
function. President Richard Nixon helped him out. From 1971
to 1973, he was made the Permanent Representative of the
United Nations. Then, from 1972 until 1973, he was the
President of the Republican party and from 1974 to 1975, he
was Ambassador to Beijing (China). At last, from 1976 to
1977, he was the director of the C.I.A. When in 1976 Jimmy
Carter became the President of the United States, George
Bush retired, temporarily, from political life.
 With
this exceptional career which defended his cause, his
personal fortune acquired in Texas and his origins from New
England, he could aspire to become the President of the
United States. Thus, he stood for the primary elections for
the Republican party in 1980 against Ronald Reagan. He
considered him as an old reactionary. James Baker came just
in the time to inform George Bush that Reagan was very
popular and was going to get the nomination of the party. So
Bush immediately joined with the "Great Communicator".
Without holding a grudge, Reagan made him his fellow
candidate. This choice surprised a lot of Republicans,
because Bush and Reagan were from the opposite wings of the
party. George Bush was thus the Vice President for the next
years (the mandate was re-elected in 1984). Between 1980 and
1988, he visited about fifteen nations as Reagan's
representative. He directed a fight against terrorism and
tried to stop drug smuggling in the south of Florida. He
took over as President for a short period when Reagan was
shot in March 1981 and also during a surgical intervention
necessitating the use of anesthesia.
Bush took part
in the Republican primaries again in 1988. In particular, he
won against Robert Dole. He chose James Danforth Quayle as
his running mate and on November 8, 1988 he defeated the
democratic candidate Michael Dukakis (54% of the popular
vote - 426 voices of the electoral vote, against 46% - 111
voices). He is the 1st Vice-President since Martin Van Buren
in 1836 to directly attain the Oval office. However, the
Democrats managed to keep a comfortable lead in both
Houses.
As a moderate
conservative, George Bush did not mark a big rupture in
politics led by Ronald Reagan. In his domestic policy, he
had to go back on his electoral promises (e.g. the famous
« Read my lips... no new taxes ») due to a growing
budgetary deficit.
 His favorite domain was external politics.
Bush's presidency had been marked by great upheavals in
international politics. The fall of communism in Eastern
Europe and in the USSR gave the United States an unique role
as a world superpower. George Bush also negotiated various
disarmament treaties with the Soviet Union (START I and II)
respectively signed in 1991 and 1993. In December 1989, he
launched a brief American intervention in Panama in order to
stop its leader; General Manuel Antonio Noriega involved in
diverse drug traffics and threatening the Panama canal. In
August 1990, when Iraq decided to invade Kuwait, George Bush
sent American military contingent to Saudi Arabia to protect
it from all Iraqi intimidation. He also assembled the
biggest coalition of countries against Iraq consisting about
500,000 soldiers. After Saddam Hussein refused to withdraw
its troops from Kuwait, President Bush launched the military
action called Desert storm during the night of 16th and 17th
January 1991, resulting in the Iraqi withdrawal and
independence of Kuwait. Last of all, George Bush totally
accepted the idea of German reunification in 1990.
 Despite
great popularity after the Gulf war (91% of favorable
opinion), the economical crisis caught up with George Bush
and he was defeated by Governor Bill Clinton in November
1992 during the presidential election.
Since his
departure from the White House, Bush rarely criticized his
successor. Today, two of his sons are in politics: George
Walker, 43rd President of the United States and Jeb,
Governor of Florida, the Sunshine State. George Bush is
living in Houston, Texas, where he can take advantage of a
peaceful and quiet private life.
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