We send our heartfelt congratulations to former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, on the occasion of their 72nd anniversary, which they marked yesterday.
Barbara Bush (Library of Congress)
Mr Bush served as the president of the US from 1989 to 1993, during which the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall fell. He also commanded a surgical and successful campaign against Iraq following that nation’s invasion of neighboring Kuwait.
Mrs Bush, like many women in her generation, has brought considerable recognition to key social and humanitarian causes. She was a noted champion of family literacy before, during, and after her term as first lady.
Politico reported that Mr and Mrs Bush were married on January 6, 1945, in New York, while Mr Bush was on leave from his service in World War II.
Mrs Bush is now 91, and Mr Bush is 92, as is former President Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan, who followed Mr Carter in the Oval Office, twice named George H.W. Bush as his vice president.
The 72-year mark is already, by far, the longest marriage for a presidential couple in history. In second place is the marriage between Abigail and John Adams, our second president who served from 1797 to 1801. Mr and Mrs Adams were married for 54 years.
