George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) was the 41st President of the United States (1989–1993). Previously, he had served as U.S. congressman from Texas (1967–1971), ambassador to the United Nations (1971–1973), Republican National Committee chairman (1973–1974), Director of Central Intelligence (1976–1977), and the 43rd Vice President of the United States under President Ronald Reagan (1981–1989). He is the father of the 43rd and current president, George Walker Bush.

Rise in politics

In 1964, Bush ventured into conventional politics by running against Texas' Democratic Senator Ralph Yarborough, making an issue of Yarborough's support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. At the time many Southern politicians (including the Republican Sen. John Tower of Texas) opposed the legislation. Bush called Yarborough an "extremist" and a "left wing demagogue" while Yarborough said Bush was a "carpetbagger" trying to buy a Senate seat "just as they would buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange". Bush lost in the 1964 Democratic landslide.

Related Topics:
Ralph Yarborough - Civil Rights Act of 1964 - John Tower - Carpetbagger - 1964

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He was later elected in 1966 and 1968 to the House of Representatives from the 7th District of Texas. He later lost his second attempt at a Senate seat in 1970 to Democrat Lloyd Bentsen who defeated the incumbent Yarborough in the Democratic primary. Bentsen later became the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in the 1988 presidential election, and in 1993, Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration.

Related Topics:
1966 - 1968 - House of Representatives - 7th District of Texas - 1970 - Lloyd Bentsen

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Throughout the 1970s, under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, Bush briefly served in a number of positions, including Chairman of the Republican National Committee, United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1971-1973), US Envoy to Communist China, Director of Central Intelligence, and board member of the Committee on the Present Danger. Bush has since commented that he did not paticuarly enjoy this string of jobs, saying he never wanted to be a "career bureaucrat." However, had Bush not received this succession of appointments after his Senate defeat in 1970, it is unlikely he would have risen to a level of national prominence in politics.

Related Topics:
1970s - Richard Nixon - Gerald Ford - Republican National Committee - United States Ambassador to the United Nations - 1971 - 1973 - Communist China - Director of Central Intelligence - Committee on the Present Danger

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