George w bush biography presidential library

George W. Bush Presidential Center

Presidential library and museum for U.S. President George W. Bush, located near Dallas, Texas

This article is about the library of the 43rd president (2001–2009). For the library of the 41st president (1989–1993), see George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened on April 25, 2013, is a complex that includes former United States President George W. Bush's presidential library and museum, the George W. Bush Policy Institute, and the offices of the George W. Bush Foundation. It is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in University Park, Texas, near Dallas. It was selected to be the eventual burial location of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States (2001–2009), and his wife Laura Bush.

History

Site selection process

Early bidders

Before Bush became president, officials at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, started to work on a bid for the library. They believed that their proximity to his ranch in Crawford and their location within 100 miles (160 km) of Austin, Dallas and the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area gave them a good shot at winning such a project. Not long after Bush became president, officials at Southern Methodist University (SMU) began working on their bid for the library.

The White House refused to discuss the issue until after Bush had won a second term. In the latter part of 2005, the White House asked a total of six colleges and one city to submit bids for the library. The six were Baylor, SMU, the University of Texas System, Texas Tech University, the University of Dallas, and Midland College. The city of Arlington, Texas, also submitted a bid. A few weeks later, Midland College announced it was merging its bid with Texas Tech to form a "West Texas Coalition" to win the library and museum. Part of the proposal was to create a Laura Bush reading cente

George W. Bush Oral History

On November 12, 2009, the George W. Bush Foundation announced that President George W. Bush selected the Miller Center at the University of Virginia to conduct a comprehensive oral history of his presidency.

President Bush said, “I am delighted that the Miller Center will record for history detailed interviews with key members of my administration. This oral history project will offer future generations a comprehensive look at what it was like to lead the country during some extraordinary challenges.”

Scholars of the George W. Bush Oral History Project are conducting interviews with key figures of the Bush White House and Cabinet, as well as with outside political advisers, members of Congress, and foreign leaders. The Miller Center plans to complete approximately 100 interviews.

The George W. Bush Oral History is a continuation of the work the Miller Center began in 1981 with its acclaimed Presidential Oral History Program, which has conducted extensive interview projects on Presidents Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Clinton. Each of these projects has been undertaken with the endorsement of the president being studied.

“The 43rd presidency was, by any standard, among the most consequential of all in American history. We intend to hear directly from those who led the country during an exceptional time, to find out what the Bush presidency looked like from the inside—including both its successes and failures,” said Professor Russell Riley, co-chair of the Miller Center’s Presidential Oral History Program.

Cleared transcripts will be released to scholars and the public after completion of the project and will be archived at the Miller Center's Scripps Library and at the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

Biography

George H.W. Bush

Sworn in as the 41st President of the United States on January 20, 1989, George Herbert Walker Bush helped usher in a new and more hopeful geopolitical era marked by the spread of freedom and free markets. During his historic term in office, the West prevailed in the Cold War; the Soviet Union gave way to a democratic Russia; the Berlin Wall “fell” and Germany was unified within NATO; and President Bush signed two treaties to drastically reduce the threat of nuclear war. After Iraq’s unprovoked invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Mr. Bush forged an unprecedented coalition of disparate nations to uphold international law. His deft handling of this international crisis enabled him to convene the Madrid Peace Conference later in 1991. Throughout his presidency, George Bush worked closely with his international counterparts, including Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, in ways that advanced America’s interests in peace and economic opportunity.

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. Nevertheless, President Bush worked with Congress to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Clean Air Act — landmark civil rights and environmental legislation. He also successfully fought for and negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was later signed into law. The education summit Mr. Bush hosted in 1989 with all 50 U.S. governors at the University of Virginia helped to spur a national reform movement. The 1990 budget agreement he signed codified into law real caps on discretionary spending by Congress while cutting the deficit by historic levels.

As president, Mr. Bush launched his “Points of Light” initiative to promote volunteerism and community service across America, and during his term in office he named 1,020 Daily Point

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    Biography of President George W. Bush

    En Español

    George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn into office on January 20, 2001, re-elected on November 2, 2004, and sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2005. Prior to his Presidency, President Bush served for 6 years as the 46th Governor of the State of Texas, where he earned a reputation for bipartisanship and as a compassionate conservative who shaped public policy based on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, strong families, and local control.

    President Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University in 1968, and then served as an F-102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. President Bush received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1975. Following graduation, he moved back to Midland and began a career in the energy business. After working on his father’s successful 1988 Presidential campaign, President Bush assembled the group of partners who purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989. On November 8, 1994, President Bush was elected Governor of Texas. He became the first Governor in Texas history to be elected to consecutive 4-year terms when he was re-elected on November 3, 1998.

    Since becoming President of the United States in 2001, President Bush has worked with the Congress to create an ownership society and build a future of security, prosperity, and opportunity for all Americans. He signed into law tax relief that helps workers keep more of their hard-earned money, as well as the most comprehensive education reforms in a generation, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This legislation is ushering in a new era of accountability, flexibility, local control, and more choices for parents, affirming our Nation&rs