George Walker Bush, also known as George W. Bush (born 1946) - American Republican politician, 43rd President of the United States (2001-2009), Governor of Texas (1995-2000). Son of the 41st US President of the United States, George W. Bush.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Bush Jr., which we will talk about in this article.
So, here is a short biography of George W. Bush.
Biography of Bush Jr.
George W. Bush was born on July 6, 1946 in New Haven (Connecticut). He grew up in the family of retired American Air Force pilot George W. Bush and his wife Barbara Pierce.
An interesting fact is that he is a direct descendant of Emperor Charlemagne in the 37th generation, as well as a relative of several American presidents of the United States.
Childhood and youth
In addition to George, the Bush family had 3 more boys and 2 girls, one of whom died in early childhood from leukemia. Later, the whole family settled in Houston.
At the end of the 7th grade, Bush Jr. continued his studies at the private school "Kincaid". By that time, his father had become a successful oil tycoon, which is why the whole family knew nothing of a lack.
Later, the head of the family headed the CIA, and in 1988 he was elected the 41st president of America.
After graduating from Kincaid, George W. Bush became a student at the famous Phillips Academy, where his father had once studied. Then he entered Yale University, where he made many friends.
An interesting fact is that at that time Bush Jr. headed one of the student fraternities, famous for hooligan entertainment and drinking, but at the same time for high sporting achievements.
It is worth noting that in connection with the activities of the brotherhood, the future president was twice at the police station.
Business and the beginning of a political career
At the age of 22, George graduated with a BA in history. During the period of his biography 1968-1973. served in the National Guard, where he was an American fighter-interceptor pilot.
After demobilization, Bush Jr. studied at Harvard Business School for 2 years. After some time, like his father, he seriously took up the oil business, but could not achieve much success.
George tried himself in politics and even ran for the US Congress, but he could not get the required number of votes. His oil business became less and less profitable. For this and other reasons, he often began to abuse alcohol.
At about the age of 40, Bush Jr. decided to completely quit drinking, because he understood what it could lead to. Then his company joined a large firm. In the late 1980s, he and like-minded people bought the Texas Rangers baseball team, which later paid dividends.
In 1994, a landmark event took place in the biography of George W. Bush. He was elected governor of Texas. Four years later, he was re-elected to this position, which was the first time in the history of Texas. It was then that they began to consider him as a possible candidate for the presidency.
Presidential elections
In 1999, Bush Jr. took part in the presidential elections, winning the primaries within his native Republican party. Then he had to fight with the democrat Al Gore, for the right to become the head of America.
George managed to win this confrontation, although it was not without a scandal. When the voting results were already announced, in Texas there were suddenly uncounted ballot boxes with a “birdie” opposite the name of Gore.
In addition, the vote count showed that the overwhelming majority of Americans voted for Al Gore. However, since in America, as you know, the final point in the struggle for the presidency is set by the Electoral College, the victory went to Bush Jr.
At the end of the first presidential term, the Americans again voted for the current head of state.
Domestic policy
During his 8 years in power, George W. Bush faced many serious problems. Nevertheless, he managed to achieve good performance in the economic sphere. The country's GDP was gradually increasing, while inflation was within acceptable limits.
However, the president was criticized for the high unemployment rate. Experts argued that this was due to the high costs of participating in military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. An interesting fact is that the state spent more money on these wars than on the arms race during the Cold War.
The tax cut program proved to be ineffective. As a result, despite the overall GDP growth, many companies and factories were closed or moved production to other states.
Bush Jr. actively advocated equality of rights for all races. He has carried out many reforms in the fields of education, health care and social services, many of which have not brought the expected success.
Americans continued to resent the country's unemployment. In the summer of 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the South American coast, which was considered the most destructive in US history.
This led to the death of approximately one and a half thousand people. There was huge damage to communications, and many cities were flooded. A number of experts blamed Bush Jr. for the fact that his actions in the current situation were ineffective.
Foreign policy
Perhaps the most difficult test for George W. Bush was the notorious tragedy of September 11, 2001.
On that day, a series of 4 coordinated terrorist attacks were carried out by members of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. The criminals hijacked 4 civilian airliners, 2 of which were sent to the New York towers of the World Trade Center, which led to their collapse.
The third liner was sent to the Pentagon. The passengers and the crew of the 4th plane tried to take control of the vessel from the terrorists, which led to its fall in the state of Pennsylvania.
Almost 3,000 people died in the attacks, not counting the missing. An interesting fact is that this terrorist attack was recognized as the largest in history in terms of the number of victims.
After that, the Bush Jr. administration declared a war on terrorism around the world. A coalition was formed to wage a war in Afghanistan, during which the main Taliban forces were destroyed. At the same time, the President publicly announced the cancellation of the agreements on the reduction of missile defense.
A few months later, George W. Bush announced that from now on, the United States would intervene in the events of other states, seeking to achieve democracy. In 2003, this bill became the reason for the outbreak of the war in Iraq, which was headed by Saddam Hussein.
America accused Hussein of supporting terrorism and refused to cooperate with the UN. Although Bush Jr. was a popular president during his first term, his approval rating declined steadily in the second.
Personal life
In 1977, George married a girl named Laura Welch, who was a former teacher and librarian. Later in this union, the twins Jenna and Barbara were born.
Bush Jr. is a Methodist member. In an interview, he admitted that he tries to read the Bible every morning.
George W. Bush today
Now the ex-president is engaged in social activities. After leaving big politics, he published his memoir "Turning Points". The book consisted of 14 sections that fit on 481 pages.
In 2018, Lithuanian officials honored Bush Jr. with the title of Honorary Citizen of Vilnius.
Photo by George W. Bush
