George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Conn., the eldest son of President George Herbert Walker Bush, who was then still a student at Yale. In 1948, the family moved to Odessa, Tex., where the senior Bush went to work in the oil business. George W., also known as just "W" to distinguish him from his father, grew up mainly in Midland, Tex., and Houston and later attended two of his father's alma maters, Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., and Yale.

After graduating from Yale with a history degree in 1968, George W. joined the Texas Air National Guard.  He underwent two years of flight training and subsequently served as a part-time fighter pilot until 1973. Outside of his Guard commitment, Bush dabbled in politics and business.

Bush entered Harvard Business School in 1973, and after graduating with an MBA (1975) he returned to Texas, where he established his own oil and gas business in the late 1970s. In 1977 he met and married his wife, Laura Welch, a librarian. The couple has twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, born in 1981.

It was while working on his father's campaign that Bush began to weigh the possibility of running for governor of Texas. In the end he decided to pass while his father was in office; with only a thin political resume, the younger Bush felt he would be quickly accused of running on his father's name and credentials.

George W's  political turn at bat finally came in 1993, when, in the wake of his father's unsuccessful bid for reelection, he announced his plans to run for the Texas governorship. Although he had a tough opponent in the immensely popular incumbent Ann Richards, he created a clear agenda focused on issues such as education and juvenile justice and won with 53% of the vote.

During the campaign leading up to the 2000 Presidential campaign, George W. characterized himself as a "compassionate conservative." a description meant to evoke a kinder, gentler Republican philosophy.  On welfare, for example, Bush has said, "It is conservative to reform welfare by insisting on work. It is compassionate to take the side of charities and churches that confront the suffering which remains." On the core issues, however, Bush adhered closely to the traditional conservative line, favoring small government, tax cuts, a strong military and opposing gun control and abortion.

With the country in a state of general prosperity and the candidates divided primarily along ideological lines, the 2000 election between Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore was perceived to be one of the least dynamic on issues, and the party conventions and presidential debates drew smaller audiences than in previous elections. The race was expected to be close, with polls showing the candidates neck-and-neck in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 7 election. Few, however, would have predicted the contest would come down to a few hundred votes in a single state.

Bush officially became the president on Dec. 13, after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Florida Supreme Court to allow manual recounts of ballots in some Florida counties. With Florida in his column, Bush won the presidency with 271 electoral votes, just one more than he needed.