BUSH, LAURA WELCH

born November 4, 1946, Midland, Texas, U.S. ne Laura Lane Welch American first lady from 2001, the wife of George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States. Laura Welch was the only child of Harold Welch, a home builder, and Jenna Hawkins Welch. Her parents placed a high priority on Laura's education and fostered her interest in reading. She attended public schools in Midland and graduated from high school in 1964. After earning a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Southern Methodist University in 1968, she taught in public schools in Dallas and Houston. She received a master's degree in library science from the University of Texas in 1973 and later worked as a librarian in Austin. Although George W. Bush and Laura Welch attended the same middle school for one year and even lived for a brief period in the same apartment complex in Houston when he was in the Texas Air National Guard, they didn't meet until 1977, when they were introduced by mutual friends at a barbecue. Three months later, on November 5, 1977, they marriedbut reportedly only after George agreed that Laura would never have to give a political speech on his behalf. Laura then resigned her job as a librarian and did volunteer work at a Dallas hospital. In 1981 she gave birth to twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, who were named after their grandmothers. After George was elected governor of Texas in 1994, Laura became a popular first lady, working to improve literacy and raising funds for public libraries. Notably, she initiated a collaborative effort with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and organized the Texas Book Festival, which raised nearly $900,000 for Texas public libraries during its first four years. She also promoted breast cancer awareness and women's health issues. In 1999 George announced his candidacy for the Republican Party presidential nomination. Although Laura had earlier resisted giving public campaign speeches, she became an avid campaigner, even addressing the Republican National Convention in August 2000. After her husband's election, she noted that she was already familiar with the White House, because of her frequent visits there during the presidency of her father-in-law, George Bush. Her insistence that she would have no policy-making role distanced her from her predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and lent credence to her promise to define the job of first lady in her own way. Betty Boyd Caroli