George W. Bush

George W. Bush, America's 43rd President (2001-2009), was transformed into a wartime President in the aftermath of the airborne terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, facing the "greatest challenge of any President since Abraham Lincoln."

George W. Bush was 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.

Born in 1946, the first of six children, George W. Bush was five years old when his family moved to the house on Ohio Avenue. The Bushes moved frequently during George W. Bush�s childhood. The four years he lived here were formative ones, and the house figures prominently in family memoirs. It saw the birth of two of his three brothers and the tragic death of his sister Robin from leukemia in 1953. George attended Sam Houston Elementary School while the family lived in this house, and he began to play baseball. At the end of 1955, the family moved to a larger house in Midland. Like his father, Bush attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and Yale University, graduating in 1968. 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.

George W. Bush worked on his father�s 1988 presidential campaign. In 1989, he and a group of partners bought the Texas Rangers baseball franchise. On November 8, 1994, 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.

George W. Bush defeated then-Vice President Al Gore by a razor-thin margin. The final vote would show that Gore received about 540,000 more votes than Bush. But that alone did not make Gore president of the United States. Independent reviews of Florida's contested ballots largely confirmed that outcome. In the end, the 2000 presidential vote hinged on 537 of the 6,000,000 ballots cast in Florida. The United States Supreme Court said not enough time remained to settle the problem before the Electoral College held its required meeting.

Since becoming President of the United States in 2001, President Bush 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 helped 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 the Nation�s fundamental belief in the promise of every child. President Bush has also worked to improve healthcare and modernize Medicare, providing the first-ever prescription drug benefit for seniors; increase homeownership, especially among minorities; conserve our environment; and increase military strength, pay, and benefits. Because President Bush believed the strength of America lay in the hearts and souls of our citizens, he supported programs that encourage individuals to help their neighbors in need.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the Nation. Since then, Bush took unprecedented steps to protect the homeland and create a world free from terror. He is grateful for the service and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform and their families. The President is confident that by helping build free and prosperous societies, the Nation and friends and allies will succeed in making America more secure and the world more peaceful.

He has worked to strengthen the nation�s defenses through the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security that consolidates and realigns government agencies into a new agency charged with protecting the homeland. He sent troops to Afghanistan to hunt down the men responsible for the attacks of September 11, resulting in the defeat of the oppressive Taliban regime. In March 2003, a U.S.-based coalition invaded Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction. The war effort was joined by more than 20 other nations designated the "coalition of the willing." The war efforts overturned Saddam Hussein�s government. Captured by American forces and brought to trial under the Iraqi interim government set up by the U.S.-led coalition, Saddam was convicted and executed.

President Bush is married to Laura Welch Bush, a former teacher and librarian, and they have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The Bush family also included two dogs, Barney and Miss Beazley, and a cat, Willie.