Джордж Буш

George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States (1989–93). A Republican, he had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States (1981–89), a congressman, an ambassador, a Director of Central Intelligence, and is currently the oldest surviving president.

Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Bush postponed going to college, enlisted in the US Navy on his 18th birthday, and became the youngest aviator in the Navy at the time.[1][2] He served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. Graduating in 1948, he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.

He became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company, serving as a member of the House of Representatives, among other positions. He ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States in 1980, but was chosen by party nominee Ronald Reagan to be the vice presidential nominee, and the two were subsequently elected. During his tenure, Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting the "War on Drugs".

 

In 1988, Bush launched a successful campaign to succeed Reagan as president, defeating Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis. Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency; military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf at a time of world change; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later. Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise and after a struggle with Congress, signed an increase in taxes that Congress had passed. In the wake of economic concerns, he lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton.

George Herbert Walker Bush was born at 173 Adams Street in Milton, Massachusetts[3] on June 12, 1924 to Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. The Bush family moved from Milton to Greenwich, Connecticut shortly after his birth. Bush began his formal education at the Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich. George Bush married Barbara Pierce on January 6, 1945, only weeks after his return from the Pacific. Their marriage produced six children: George Walker Bush (born 1946), Pauline Robinson Bush ("Robin", 1949–1953, died of leukemia), John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born 1953), Neil Mallon Bush (born 1955), Marvin Pierce Bush (born 1956), and Dorothy Bush Koch (born 1959).[8]

Bush was elected in 1966 to a House of Representatives seat from the 7th District of Texas

Bush as ambassador to the United Nations, 1971

Director of Central Intelligence

In 1976, Ford brought Bush back to Washington to become Director of Central Intelligence, replacing William Colby.[27] He served in this role for 357 days, from January 30, 1976 to January 20, 1977.[28] The CIA had been rocked by a series of revelations, including those based on investigations by the Church Committee regarding illegal and unauthorized activities by the CIA, and Bush was credited with helping to restore the agency's morale.[29] In his capacity as DCI, Bush gave national security briefings to Jimmy Carter both as a Presidential candidate and as President-elect, and discussed the possibility of remaining in that position in a Carter administration,[30] but did not do so. He was succeeded by Deputy Director of Central Intelligence E. Henry Knoche, who served as acting Director of Central Intelligence until Stansfield Turner was confirmed.[31]

Vice Presidency (1981–1989)

1988 presidential campaign

The general election campaign between the two men has been described as one of the nastiest in modern times.[44] Bush blamed Dukakis for polluting the Boston Harbor as the Massachusetts governor.[13] Bush also pointed out that Dukakis was opposed to the law that would require all students to say the Pledge of Allegiance,[12] a topic well covered in Bush's nomination acceptance speech.[43]

Presidency (1989–1993)

Bush was inaugurated on January 20, 1989, succeeding Ronald Reagan. He entered office at a period of change in the world; the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet Union came early in his presidency.[2] He ordered military operations in Panama and the Persian Gulf[2] and, at one point, was recorded as having a record-high approval rating of 89 percent.[46] However, economic recession and breaking his "no new taxes" pledge caused a sharp decline in his approval rating, and Bush was defeated in the 1992 election.[2]

 

Domestic policy

Economy

Early in his term, Bush faced the problem of what to do with leftover deficits spawned by the Reagan years. At $220 billion in 1990, the deficit had grown to three times its size since 1980.[12] Bush was dedicated to curbing the deficit, believing that America could not continue to be a leader in the world without doing so.[12] He began an effort to persuade the Democratic controlled Congress to act on the budget;[12] with Republicans believing that the best way was to cut government spending, and Democrats convinced that the only way would be to raise taxes, Bush faced problems when it came to consensus building.[12]

 

 

Major initiatives

During a speech to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Bush announced a vision to complete Space Station Freedom, resume exploration of the Moon and begin exploration of Mars.[48] Although a space station was eventually constructed–work on the International Space Station began in 1998–other work has been confounded by NASA budgetary issues. In 1998, Bush received the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement's National Space Trophy for his pioneering leadership of the US space program. Bush signed a number of major laws in his presidency, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; this was one of the most pro-civil rights bills in decades.[12] He worked to increase federal spending for education, childcare, and advanced technology research.[12] In dealing with the environment, Bush reauthorized the Clean Air Act, requiring cleaner burning fuels.[12] He quarreled with Congress over an eventually signed bill to aid police in capturing criminals, and signed into law a measure to improve the nation's highway system.[12] Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990,[49] which increased legal immigration to the United States by 40 percent.[50]

 

Foreign policy

 

Panama

 

In the 1980s, Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, a once US-supportive leader who was later accused of spying for Fidel Castro and using Panama to traffic drugs into the US, was one of the most recognizable names in the United States, being constantly covered by the press. The struggle to remove him from power began in the Reagan administration,[55] when economic sanctions were imposed on the country;[56] this included prohibiting US companies and government from making payments to Panama and freezing $56 million in Panamanian funds in US banks.[56] Reagan sent more than 2,000 US troops to Panama as well.[56] Unlike Reagan, Bush was able to remove Noriega from power, but his administration's unsuccessful post-invasion planning hindered the needs of Panama during the establishment of the young democratic government.[55] The mission was controversial,[58] but American forces achieved control of the country and Endara assumed the Presidency. Noriega surrendered to the US and was convicted and imprisoned on racketeering and drug trafficking charges in April 1992.[59] President Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush visited Panama in June 1992, to give support to the first post-invasion Panamanian government.

Soviet Union

In 1989, just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Bush met with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in a conference on the Mediterranean island of Malta. The administration had been under intense pressure to meet with the Soviets,[60] but not all initially found the Malta summit to be a step in the right direction; General Brent Scowcroft, among others, was apprehensive about the meeting, saying that it might be "premature" due to concerns where, according to Dr. Condoleezza Rice, "expectations [would be] set that something was going to happen, where the Soviets might grandstand and force [the US] into agreements that would ultimately not be good for the United States".[60] But European leaders, including François Mitterrand and Margaret Thatcher, encouraged Bush to meet with Gorbachev,[60] something that he did December 2 and 3, 1989.[61] Though no agreements were signed, the meeting was viewed largely as being an important one; when asked about nuclear war, The meeting was received as a very important step to the end of the Cold War.[63]

Gulf War

Bush spoke before a joint session of the US Congress regarding the authorization of air and land attacks, laying out four immediate objectives: "Iraq must withdraw from Kuwait completely, immediately, and without condition. With the United Nations Security Council opposed to Iraq's violence, Congress authorized the Use of Military force[65] with a set goal of returning control of Kuwait to the Kuwaiti government, and protecting America's interests abroad.[12]

 

Early on the morning of January 17, 1991, allied forces launched the first attack, which included more than 4,000 bombing runs by coalition aircraft.[12

Bush's approval ratings skyrocketed after the successful offensive.[12] Additionally, President Bush and Secretary of State Baker felt the coalition victory had increased U.S. prestige abroad and believed there was a window of opportunity to use the political capital generated by the coalition victory to revitalize the Arab-Israeli peace process. The administration immediately returned to Arab-Israeli peacemaking following the end of the Gulf War; this resulted in the Madrid Conference, later in 1991.[68]

1992 presidential campaign

Main article: United States presidential election, 1992

 

Bush announced his reelection bid in early 1992; with a coalition victory in the Persian Gulf War and high approval ratings, reelection initially looked likely. As a result, many leading Democrats declined to seek their party's presidential nomination. But an economic recession, and doubts of whether Bush ended the Gulf War properly, reduced his popularity.

In 1993, Bush was awarded an honorary knighthood (GCB) by Queen Elizabeth II. He was the third American president to receive the honor, the others being Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan.[117]

From 1993–1999, he served as the chairman to the board of trustees for Eisenhower Fellowships.

 

His eldest son, George W. Bush, was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20, 2001.

On February 15, 2011, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor in the United States—by President Barack Obama.[119]