Overview
The Encyclopedia of Presidents offers authoritative biographies of each president since 1789, when George Washington was first sworn in. The stories of these key figures and historic events paint a full and lively picture of our nation.George Bush became Ronald Reagan's vice president in 1980, and in 1988 he was elected president. After courageous service in World War II, Bush entered the oil business in Texas, and in 1966 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Later, he served as U.S. Representative to the United Nations, director of a U.S. diplomatic mission to China, and Director of the CIA. The major event during his presidency was the first Persian Gulf War against Iraq. When Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, Bush assembled a military coalition that ultimately succeeded in driving Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Bush's popularity reached an all-time high. At home, however, an economic slowdown troubled voters. Bush also lost support when he broke a campaign promise not to raise taxes. After a hard-fought campaign for re-election against Democrat Bill Clinton, Bush was defeated in November 1992.