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Laura Lane Welch Bush
43rd First Lady of the United States
In office January 20, 2001 – incumbent
Preceded by	Hillary Rodham Clinton
Born	November 4, 1946 (1946-11-04) (age 61) Midland, Texas
Spouse	George W. Bush
Relations	Harold Welch and Jenna Hawkins
Children	Barbara and Jenna Bush
Alma mater	Southern Methodist University(SMU)
Occupation	Teacher
Religion	United Methodist

Laura Lane Welch Bush (born November 4, 1946) is the wife of the forty-third and current President of the United States George W. Bush and is thereby the First Lady of the United States.

Laura Lane Welch was born in Midland, Texas, the only child of Harold Welch (1912–1995) and Jenna Louise Hawkins Welch (born 1919).

In 1963 Laura was involved in a car accident when she ran a stop sign and crashed into another car, killing a friend and classmate, Michael Dutton Douglas, alleged to have been her boyfriend, who was driving the other car. According to the two-page accident report released by the city of Midland, neither driver was drinking, and no charges were filed.^[1]

Welch earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1968 from Southern Methodist University in Dallas where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. After graduating, she became a school teacher at Longfellow Elementary School in Dallas Independent School District until 1969. She then taught for three years at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, a Houston Independent School District school in Houston, until 1972.

She then attained a Master of Science degree in Library Science in 1973 from the University of Texas at Austin, following which she was employed as a librarian at the Kashmere Gardens Branch at the Houston Public Library until 1974, when she moved back to Austin. She was a librarian at an Austin Independent School District school, Dawson Elementary School until 1977.

Laura and George W. Bush with their daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush Kennebunkport, 1990

Laura Welch met George W. Bush in 1977 at a backyard barbecue at the home of mutual friends. After a three-month courtship, she married him on November 5 of that year at the First United Methodist Church in Midland, the same church in which she had been baptized.^[2]

In 1981, she gave birth to twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The twins graduated from high school in 2000 and from Yale University and the University of Texas at Austin, respectively, in 2004.

During her years raising her children, Laura Bush served as a volunteer in a number of organizations, including Friends of the Midland Public Library, the executive board of the Junior League of Midland, the Friends of Dallas Public Library Board Executive Committee, the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) at Preston Hollow Elementary School, and the Community Partners Board of Child Protective Services.^[3]

Laura Bush is credited with influencing the maturation of her husband in the 1980s and with being one of the factors in his decision to stop drinking alcohol in 1986.^[4]

Her mother, Jenna Louise Hawkins, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 78. She endured surgery and has no further signs of cancer. Laura has become a breast cancer activist on her mother's behalf.^[5]

Mrs. Laura Bush smiling at her husband at the White House in 2005

Several times a year, Laura Bush and her husband travel to their sprawling family estate, the Bush Compound better known as Walker's Point. Located in Kennebunkport, Maine, the compound is where Bush family gatherings have been held for nearly 100 years.

Laura Bush became the First Lady of Texas when her husband was elected as the Governor of Texas and served as first lady of that state from 1995 to 2000. She worked for women's and children's causes, establishing the Adopt-a-Caseworker Program and the Rainbow Room program. She also focused on literacy and libraries, and established the First Lady's Family Literacy Initiative, which encouraged families to read together.^[6] During her years in the Governor's Mansion, she did not hold a single formal event.^[7]

After the outcome of the 2000 Presidential Election was finally resolved in December 2000, her husband resigned as Texas Governor to prepare for his inauguration as President of the United States in January 2001, making Laura Bush the First Lady of the United States.

The Bush family enjoying a game of tee ball on the White House front lawn in 2001

As First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush has focused on education and women's health issues and launched the first National Book Festival. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, she took an interest in mitigating the emotional effects of the attacks on children, which were disturbing, particularly as the images were repeatedly replayed on television. Many schools closed early, especially those with children whose parents worked in Washington, D.C. or New York City. When asked for her thoughts on the attacks, she responded with a very strong warning to parents: don't let your children see the pictures over and over, especially young children, but even elementary school-aged children shouldn't be watching it all the time.^[8] She gave the warning, based on how children reacted when watching television coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. She also composed open letters which she distributed through state education officials. A "Dear Students" letter went to middle and high school students,^[9] while elementary school students got one saying, "Dear Children".^[10]

In November 2001, she became the first person other than a president to deliver the weekly presidential radio address. She used the opportunity to discuss the plight of women in Afghanistan during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, saying, "The brutal oppression of women is a central goal of the terrorists".^[11] In May 2002, she made a speech to the people of Afghanistan through Radio Liberty, a radio station in Prague, Czech Republic.

Laura Bush was named the second most powerful woman in the United States (after Condoleezza Rice) and the fourth most powerful in the world by Forbes magazine in 2004.^[12]

Laura's husband, President George W. Bush, is sworn into his second term on January 20, 2005 by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, looked on by Laura and their daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush, as well as former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert

During the January 2005 second inauguration ceremonies for her husband, Laura Bush was praised by People magazine and others for her elegance and better use of fashion.^[13] While her First Lady approval ratings remained high (some polls said 85% approval) as her husband's approval ratings slid she began to take a stronger role in his second term. Among her recent high-profile projects is an initiative designed to encourage patriotism in American schools entitled National Anthem Project.

In May 2005, as Bush traveled through the Middle East, she was heckled by some bystanders in Jerusalem, appeared on Egypt's version of Sesame Street, endorsed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's upcoming election plans, and in Jordan said that women should have the right to "speak and vote and worship freely."^[14] In Jerusalem, Bush visited the Dome Of the Rock mosque. She removed her shoes and walked barefoot in the mosque, which is a sign of respect in Islamic culture.

Laura Bush and her husband attend the opening of the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library with one of Mrs. Bush's predecessors, former First Lady Nancy Reagan

On July 12, 2005 while in South Africa on an AIDS mission, Bush suggested her husband replace retiring Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor with another woman. Her husband seemed surprised when reporters asked him about her quote, but said he could not wait to hear her advice. On October 2, during a private dinner at the White House with Laura, President Bush asked Harriet Miers to replace O'Connor.^[15]Later that month, after Miers had faced intense criticism, Bush questioned whether the charges were sexist in nature.^[16] She has asserted she is stereotyped as a librarian and teacher.[1]

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, speaking at a press conference from a relief center in Lafayette on September 2, 2005, Laura Bush was asked about the fact that most of the people stuck in New Orleans were poor and black. The First Lady said that while the poor are always the main victims of natural disasters, there is nothing that can be done about it. "This is what happens when there's a natural disaster of this scope," Mrs. Bush said. "The poorer people are usually in the neighborhoods that are the lowest or the most exposed or the most vulnerable. Their housing is the most vulnerable to natural disaster. And that is just always what happens."^[17]

While appearing on Fox News Sunday on May 14, 2006, Mrs. Bush responded to a question concerning the Federal Marriage Amendment by calling for elected leaders not to politicize same-sex marriage, "I don't think it should be used as a campaign tool, obviously. It requires a lot of sensitivity to just talk about the issue... a lot of sensitivity."^[18]

Although opinion polls relating to her husband have dropped steadily for much of his presidency, Mrs. Bush has said, "I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country. I see people, I see their responses to my husband. I see their response to me," she said.

During her tenure as the First Lady, Laura Bush has received a number of awards and honors. In October 2002, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity honored Mrs. Bush in recognition of her life-long commitment to education,^[19] the American Library Association honored her for her years of support to America's libraries and librarians in April of 2005,^[20]. The Progressive Librarians Guild has opposed[2] honoring Mrs. Bush by librarians because of her support of the USAPATRIOT Act and her cancellation of a poetry forum due to concern that some of the poets would express opposition to the war in Iraq.[3]

She received an award in honor of her dedication to help improve the living conditions and education of children around the world, from the Kuwait-American Foundation in March of 2006.^[21] Three learning facilities have been named for her: the Laura Bush Elementary School in Houston, Texas,^[22] the Laura W. Bush Elementary School in the Leander ISD just outside Austin, Texas,^[23] and the Laura Bush Education Center at Camp Bondsteel, a US military base in Kosovo, is named after her.

• Felix, Antonia. Laura: America's First Lady, First Mother. The first biography on Laura Bush. ISBN 1-58062-659-9
• Gerhart, Ann. The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush. A biography. ISBN 0-7432-4383-8
• Gormley, Beatrice. Laura Bush: America's First Lady. A biography. ISBN 0-689-85366-1
• Kelley, Kitty. The Family : The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty. ISBN 0-385-50324-5
• Kessler, Ronald. Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady. A biography. ISBN 0-385-51621-5
• Montgomery, Leslie. Were It Not For Grace: Stories From Women After God's Own Heart; Featuring Condoleezza Rice, First Lady Laura Bush, Beth Moore & Others. Laura Bush shares her story about how God has had his hand on her life. ISBN 0-8054-3178-0
  

Laura Bush and Kiyoko Fukuda (wife of Yasuo Fukuda).	Marta Sahagún and Laura Bush	Vicente Fox, Sahagún, and Laura Bush	Laura Bush with her husband's extended family
Laura Bush (far right) at the 2006 APEC gala dinner with Roh Moo-hyun, Kwon Yang-sook, Vladimir Putin (center), and George W. Bush (right)	Laura Bush with her husband, Jiang Zemin, and Jiang's wife, Wang Yeping, in Crawford, Texas in 2002.	Laura Bush, along with George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Condoleeza Rice, and Andrew Card pay their respects to Pope John Paul II before the pope's funeral.	Laura Bush with George W. Bush, Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, Prince Henrik of Denmark, madame Chirac, President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal, President Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines at the funeral of John Paul II.
Laura Bush with George W. Bush, Albert II, and Queen Paola	Laura Bush with Queen Paola	Laura Bush with Philippine First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and Indonesian First Lady Kristiani Herawati in Santiago, Chile.	Laura Bush with Vicente Fox, Marta Sahagún, and George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, March 5, 2004

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• Mrs. Laura Bush's Home Page. whitehouse.gov. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
• "The book on Laura Bush" by Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• "A Laura Bush we don't know" by Eugene Robinson, San Francisco Chronicle

• Laura Bush at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e First Ladies of the United States

M. Washington · A. Adams · M. Jefferson Randolph · D. Madison · E. Monroe · L. Adams · E. Donelson · S. Jackson · A. Van Buren · A. Harrison · J. Harrison · L. Tyler · P. Tyler · J. Tyler · S. Polk · M. Taylor · A. Fillmore · J. Pierce · H. Lane · M. Lincoln · E. Johnson · J. Grant · L. Hayes · L. Garfield · M. McElroy · R. Cleveland · F. Cleveland · C. Harrison · M. McKee · F. Cleveland · I. McKinley · Edith Roosevelt · H. Taft · Ellen Wilson · Edith Wilson · F. Harding · G. Coolidge · L. Hoover · E. Roosevelt · B. Truman · M. Eisenhower · J. Kennedy · C. Johnson · P. Nixon · B. Ford · R. Carter · N. Reagan · B. Bush · H. Clinton · L. Bush

v • d • e George W. Bush
Family	Laura Bush · George H. W. Bush · Barbara Bush · Jenna Bush · Barbara Bush · Barney · Miss Beazley · India
Life	Early life · Military service controversy · Professional life · Insider trading allegations · Religious faith · Substance abuse controversy · Pretzel incident · Nicknames
Politics	Governor of Texas · Presidency (2000 campaign · First Term · Cabinet · Iraq War · 2004 campaign · Second Term · White House shakeup · Executive Orders · Pardons · Library)
Policies	Compassionate conservatism · Domestic policy · Economic policy · Foreign policy · Bush Doctrine · Legislation and programs
Perceptions	Public perception · Bushisms · Controversy · Criticism · Impeachment movement · Fictionalized portrayals · As the subject of books and films