George H.W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush was born in Massachusetts in 1924, enlisted in the U.S. Navy after high school and became one of the Navy's youngest aviators during World War II. After graduating from Yale, Bush moved his family to West Texas, entered the oil business and helped build Zapata Petroleum and related ventures. Houston later became his political base: he chaired the Harris County Republican Party, won election to the U.S. House in 1966 and represented a Houston-area district for two terms.

Bush then moved through a series of national-security and diplomatic posts, including U.S. representative to the United Nations, chairman of the Republican National Committee, chief of the U.S. liaison office in Beijing and director of Central Intelligence. He served two terms as Ronald Reagan's vice president before winning the presidency in 1988. His term coincided with the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe, German reunification, the end of the Cold War and the U.S.-led Gulf War coalition after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Domestic measures signed during his presidency included the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. After leaving office, Bush returned to Texas; his presidential library and museum opened at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Bush's political identity was deeply tied to Texas even though he was not born in the state. The oil business, Houston Republican organization and his congressional district formed the bridge between his postwar civilian life and the national offices that followed.

His presidency is most often assessed through the international transition at the end of the Cold War, including German reunification, relations with the collapsing Soviet Union and the Gulf War coalition. His domestic record also included major disability-rights and environmental legislation. The presidential library at Texas A&M makes College Station a central Texas site for studying that national career.