George Walker Bush [ a ] born July 6, is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from to A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party , he was the 46th governor of Texas from to The eldest son of the 41st president, George H. Bush , he flew warplanes in the Texas Air National Guard in his twenties. After graduating from Harvard Business School in , he worked in the oil industry.
As governor , Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice system.
He also helped make Texas the leading producer of wind-generated electricity in the United States. In the presidential election , he won over Democratic incumbent Vice President Al Gore , while losing the popular vote after a narrow and contested Electoral College win, which involved a Supreme Court decision to stop a recount in Florida.
He pushed for socially conservative efforts such as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and faith-based initiatives. The terrorist attacks on September 11, decisively reshaped his administration, resulting in the start of the war on terror and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to overthrow the Taliban , destroy al-Qaeda , and capture Osama bin Laden.
He signed the Patriot Act to authorize surveillance of suspected terrorists. He also ordered the invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein 's regime on the false belief that the regime possessed weapons of mass destruction WMDs and had ties with al-Qaeda. In , Bush was re-elected president in a close race, beating Democratic opponent John Kerry and winning the popular vote. During his second term, Bush made free trade agreements. He sought major changes to Social Security and immigration laws, but both efforts failed in Congress.
