George H.W. Bush

1924 – 2018

George Herbert Walker Bush served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as Ronald Reagan's vice president from 1981 to 1989, and as Director of Central Intelligence in 1976. On Christmas Eve 1992, weeks before leaving office, he pardoned six former officials in the Iran-Contra affair, including former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger on the eve of his trial, effectively ending an independent counsel investigation that had been examining Bush's own role. He launched the 1989 invasion of Panama, which killed hundreds of civilians, and the 1991 Gulf War, while his 1988 campaign's racially charged Willie Horton attack ad against Michael Dukakis became a notorious case study in dog-whistle politics.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM