Laura Bush - Wikipedia

Love that first lady.

Since GW left office, I have mixed emotions on her and him.

Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that November 4 is the anniversary of the birthday of American educator Laura Welch Bush "who was First Lady of the United States during the presidency of her husband, George W. Bush, from 2001 to 2009."
Happy 73rd birthday Laura Welch Bush

George W. Bush, Laura Bush 'This Week' Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJbUXw87j0A

Images:
1. Laura W. Bush
2. Former First Lady Laura Bush and her daughter Barbara Bush Heidelberg, Germany on October 2., 2019.
3. Laura Bush 'A sweet visit during this somber week. Thanks to Mrs. Trump for inviting our family to the White House to see the Christmas decorations'.
4. Former First Lady Laura Bush sent a very sweet and touching message to our current First Lady Melania Trump, thanking her for her hospitality during the George H.W. Bush’s funeral.

Biography
1. whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-ladies/laura-welch-bush/
2. bushcenter.org/people/laura-bush.html

Background from whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-ladies/laura-welch-bush/
"Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President, George W. Bush. She served as First Lady from 2001 to 2009, advocating for historic education reform and the well-being of women and families worldwide.
During her eight years in the White House, Mrs. Laura Bush was a champion of President Bush’s ambitious agenda and a gracious representative of the American people. A former teacher and librarian, she has dedicated herself to advancing education and promoting the well-being of women and families worldwide.

Mrs. Bush was a key advocate of the President’s historic education reform – the No Child Left Behind Act – and a staunch supporter of NCLB’s Reading First program, which is the largest early reading initiative in American history. Early in the President’s first term, she launched “Ready to Read, Ready to Learn,” an education initiative that promoted best practices in early childhood education and raised awareness of innovative teacher training programs. Inspired by her success with the Texas Book Festival, Mrs. Bush founded the National Book Festival to introduce tens of thousands of Americans to their favorite authors each year.

In 2003, Mrs. Bush answered the call to take her education agenda global, as honorary ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade. In this role, she has worked with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to promote global literacy programs with measurable outcomes. She convened world leaders for annual summits that inspired successful practices, beginning with the first-ever White House Conference on Global Literacy in 2006. Mrs. Bush has visited schools and met with students in nations from Afghanistan to Zambia, with a particular focus on encouraging girls and women to pursue their education.

As the leader of President Bush’s Helping America’s Youth initiative, Mrs. Bush oversaw 10 Federal agencies in a groundbreaking partnership that realized the vision of the President Bush’s Management Agenda. Through a national conference in Washington and six regional conferences, Helping America’s Youth taught more than 1,000 community members new strategies to address the needs of at-risk youth.

Since the attacks of September 11, Mrs. Bush has been an outspoken supporter of the women of Afghanistan. In November 2001, she became the first First Lady to give the President’s weekly radio address, speaking out against the Taliban’s oppression of women and children. She has traveled to Afghanistan three times and served as honorary chair of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council.

Mrs. Bush has been a leading advocate for the cause of human rights in Burma. She drew global attention to the ruling junta’s oppression with a 2006 roundtable at the UN headquarters. After Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma in May 2008, Mrs. Bush held an unprecedented press conference in the White House Press Briefing Room and urged the regime to accept international aid. Mrs. Bush also traveled to the Thai-Burma border and met with refugees who fled the abuses of Burma’s military regime.

Mrs. Bush has traveled to all 50 States and more than 75 countries. She has made five trips to Africa alone in support of President Bush’s life-saving global health initiatives, including the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In visits to 10 of the 15 countries targeted by the PMI and 12 of the 15 PEPFAR countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, she witnessed first-hand the success of these historic commitments. In 2006, she joined President Bush to co-host the first-ever White House Summit on Malaria, which helped raise awareness of malaria and support grassroots efforts to eradicate the disease.

Mrs. Bush has helped thousands of women take charge of their health by raising awareness of breast cancer and heart disease. As Ambassador for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Heart Truth campaign, Mrs. Bush traveled the country to educate women about the symptoms of heart disease, which is the number one killer of American women. In addition, Mrs. Bush helped launch the U.S.-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research and the Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research of the Americas, which unite the resources of researchers and advocates in the United States and around the world.

Mrs. Laura Bush was born on November 4, 1946, in Midland, Texas. She earned degrees in education and library science and worked for several years as an elementary school teacher and children’s librarian before marrying George Walker Bush. They have twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, and a son-in-law, Henry Hager. The Bush family also includes two dogs, Barney and Miss Beazley. Prior to becoming First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Bush served as the First Lady of Texas."

2. Background from bushcenter.org/people/laura-bush.html
"Laura Bush, former First Lady of the United States, is an advocate for literacy, education, and women’s rights. After leaving the White House, President and Mrs. Bush founded the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas. The Center is home to the Bush Presidential Museum and Library and the George W. Bush Institute, a public policy center established to advance human freedom, economic growth, education reform, and global health.

Today Mrs. Bush pursues her work on global healthcare innovations, and empowering women in emerging democracies through the George W. Bush Institute. She serves as the Chair for the Bush Institute’s Women’s Initiative, guiding the Institute’s programs to advance economic opportunity, good health and human freedom for women and girls. Women’s Initiative programs are training women leaders in Egypt, raising awareness of Afghan women’s progress and plight, and convening African first ladies, government officials and public-private partnerships to invest in women’s health to strengthen Africa.

Laura Bush is a leading voice for spreading freedom and promoting human rights across the globe. For more than a decade, she has led efforts through the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council to protect the hard-earned rights of women in that country. As First Lady, she made three trips to Afghanistan and in 2001 she delivered the President’s weekly radio address – a first for a First Lady – to direct international attention to the Taliban’s oppression of women.

Long a supporter of the people of Burma, in 2006 Laura Bush hosted a roundtable discussion on Burma at the United Nations headquarters in New York. After Cyclone Nargis devastated the country in May 2008, she held an unprecedented press conference in the White House Press Briefing Room and urged the ruling junta to accept international aid. She then traveled to the Thai-Burma border, where she met with Burmese refugees. In 2012, Mrs. Bush helped to bestow the Congressional Gold Medal to Burmese opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The legislation for the medal, signed by President Bush, had been awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi in 2008 when she was under house arrest.

As First Lady, Mrs. Bush advocated the importance of literacy and education to advance opportunity for America’s young people and to foster healthy families and communities. She highlighted the importance of preparing children to become lifelong learners, convening in 2001 a White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development. Since 2003, she has served as the Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade. Laura Bush visited schools and met with students in nations from Afghanistan to Zambia, with a particular focus on the education of girls and women. Mrs. Bush worked with the Library of Congress to create the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. in 2001. The National Book Festival continues to this day and annually attracts more than 120,000 Americans. The Texas Book Festival in Austin was founded in 1996 by Mrs. Bush while she was First Lady of Texas. At the Bush Institute in Dallas, President and Mrs. Bush’s Education Reform initiative works to improve student achievement through effective school leadership, middle school transformation, and the use of accountability.

Because heart disease is the leading cause of death among American women, in 2003 Laura Bush partnered with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to launch The Heart Truth campaign and the Red Dress project. The Heart Truth campaign aims to raise awareness among women about their risk for heart disease. In 2006, she helped launch the first international partnerships for breast cancer awareness and research. As First Lady, she visited countries in Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America to support programs that help women detect breast cancer early so they can seek treatment when it has the best chance of success. Mrs. Bush has visited more than a dozen countries to support the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the President’s Malaria Initiative. Today through the Bush Institute, Laura and George Bush continue their work to promote women’s health through Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, a health initiative that adds the testing and treatment of cervical and breast cancer to PEPFAR in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mrs. Bush is the author of the bestselling memoir, Spoken From the Heart, and bestselling children’s book, Our Great Big Backyard. She serves on many boards, including the National Advisory Board for the Salvation Army, the Council for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Board of Trustees for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Laura Bush was born in Midland, Texas, to Harold and Jenna Welch. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Southern Methodist University and a master’s degree in library science from the University of Texas. She taught in public schools in Dallas, Houston and Austin and worked as a public school librarian. She served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

President and Mrs. Bush are the parents of twin daughters: Barbara, married to Craig Coyne, and Jenna, married to Henry Hager. The Bushes are also the proud grandparents of Margaret Laura “Mila” and Poppy Louise Hager. The Bush family also includes two cats, Bob and Bernadette, as well as Freddy the dog."

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