George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut. He was the 43rd president in the White House and served as the President of the United States from 2001-2009. He narrowly beat Al Gore in the Electoral College vote, which made him president despite losing the popular vote of the nation. This was the first time such an event had happened since 1888 when Benjamin Harrison was elected president. The most prominent part of his administration was the launch of the Iraq War in 2003.
Bush was the firstborn of six children. His father and namesake, George H.W. Bush, was the 41st president from 1989-1993. While Bush Jr. was born in Connecticut, he was raised primarily in Texas. After his time at Phillips Academy from 1961-1964, he attended Yale University and earned his bachelor’s degree in history in 1968. This is the school his father and grandfather attended as well. Unlike his forebears, he had only average grades and was not an athlete. He served in the Texas Air National Guard starting in July 1968, and by June 1970, he was a certified fighter pilot.
He attended Harvard business school after being rejected admission to the University of Texas law school. Through the late 1970s and 80s, Bush ran an oil and gas firm. In 1994, he ran for governor of Texas and won by a vote of 53%. During his time as governor from 1995-2000, he received international attention for his unflinching use of capital punishment in the state, which was higher in relation to other states in the country. Still, he was reelected in 1998 with almost 70% of the vote. In June 1999, Bush set his sights higher and announced his Republican presidential candidacy. At the outset, he took a strong lead in the public polls against Al Gore, the Democratic candidate.
After winning the election, one of the first things Bush faced in his early presidency was the September 11, 2001 attacks. This defined much of the remainder of his presidency. Since leaving the White House in January 2009, Bush and his wife have settled in Dallas, Texas. He has delivered several speeches to predominantly private audiences, but has avoided criticizing President Barack Obama, his Democratic successor. At the request of Obama, Bush and former president Bill Clinton were rallied as the leaders to raise funds for Haiti, the country devastated by an earthquake in January 2010.