Laura Bush

Laura Lane Welch Bush was first lady of the United States from 2001-2009, the wife of the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush.

Bush was born in Midland, Texas, on November 4, 1946. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, in 1968 with bachelor's degree in elementary education. After college, she taught second grade in Houston, Texas, for two years. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, Graduate School of Library Science in 1973 with a master's degree in library science and returned to Austin to work as an elementary school librarian. On November 5, 1977, she married George W. Bush and soon began working full-time on his unsuccessful U.S. congressional campaign. She also campaigned for her father-in-law's unsuccessful campaign for the 1980 presidential nomination, and again in 1988 for his successful presidential campaign.

In 1994, Mr. Bush was elected governor of Texas. As first lady of Texas, Bush advocated for state funding of early reading, literacy and early childhood development programs. In 2000, Mr. Bush was elected president of the United States. Mrs. Bush campaigned actively in both the 2000 and 2004 campaigns. In the 2004 campaign, she gave hundreds policy speeches, including at the Republican National Convention.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Bush gave a number of talks on ways to comfort traumatized children. She met with Afghani women and publicized their stories in a presidential radio address, the first given by a first lady. She made education her primary issue throughout her tenure as first lady, calling for higher teacher salaries and better training for Head Start and day care workers, supporting government and private sector efforts to promote reading and education.

Photo by Kevin Halliburton of Ice Imaging.

Sources:

National First Ladies Library. (n.d.). First Lady Biography: Laura Bush. Retrieved on July 22, 2020, from http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=44.

The White House. (n.d.). Laura Welch Bush. Retrieved on July 22, 2020, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-ladies/laura-welch-bush.