Jeb Bush: Biography, Facts and Career

John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is the second son of former president George H. W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, and a younger brother of former president George W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, he was an unsuccessful candidate for president of the United States in the 2016 Republican primaries. Bush was born into the prominent Bush family in Midland, Texas, and grew up in Houston. He graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a degree in Latin American affairs. In 1980, Bush moved to Florida and pursued a career in real estate development. In 1987, he became Florida's secretary of commerce, serving this role until 1988, when he joined his father's successful campaign for the presidency. In 1994, Bush made his first run for office, losing the election for governor by less than two percentage points to the incumbent Lawton Chiles. Bush ran again in 1998 and defeated lieutenant governor Buddy MacKay with 55 percent of the vote. He ended up succeeding MacKay after Chiles died in office 23 days shy of his retirement. He ran for reelection in 2002, defeating Bill McBride and winning with 56 percent, to become Florida's first two-term Republican governor. During his eight years as governor, Bush pushed an ambitious Everglades conservation plan, supported caps for medical malpractice litigation, launched a Medicaid privatization pilot program, and instituted reforms to the state education system, including the issuance of vouchers and promoting school choice. Bush announced his presidential candidacy on June 15, 2015. He suspended his campaign on February 20, 2016, shortly after the South Carolina primary, and finished sixth out of 17 contesters by both delegates number and popular vote. He endorsed Senator Ted Cruz on March 23, 2016, and was critical of Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, remaining so during Trump's presidencies.

Quick facts about Jeb Bush

• Full name: Jeb Bush
• Born: 1953-02-11
• Nationality: Spain
• Known as: Author
• Wikidata ID: Q221997

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.