George W. Bush

George W. Bush served two terms as the 43rd President of the United States, marking only the second time in history that the son of a president went on to lead the nation. Before entering national politics, Bush served as governor of Texas. A lifelong sports fan and former managing general partner of baseball's Texas Rangers, Bush earned a reputation in the White House as an exercise enthusiast, a proud husband and father and a purposeful Commander in Chief who remained optimistic even in the most trying of times.

Bush's often-mocked mispronunciations and malapropisms, known colloquially as "Bushisms" - including such terms as "misunderestimated" - belied an inquisitive intellect. On the morning of September 11, 2001, eight months into Bush's first term as president, America suffered its deadliest terror attack in history, transforming Bush into a wartime president. His father, George H.W. Bush, declared that his son "faced the greatest challenge of any president since Abraham Lincoln."

In response to the 9/11 attacks, Bush put many of his plans on hold to oversee the war on terror, which involved formation of the Department of Homeland Security, the launch of military operations in Afghanistan and the widespread reorganization of law enforcement, intelligence and defense services, including Bush's signing of the Patriot Act into law. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, on July 6, 1946, while his father attended Yale University, Bush and his family moved to Midland, Texas, two years later, where the elder Bush entered the oil business.

Bush went to Midland public schools, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale University, a Master of Business Administration from Harvard and eventually returned to Texas to also get into the oil business. Following his presidency, Bush took up painting as a hobby.