Laura Bush served as First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009, championing national literacy, global education, women’s rights in Afghanistan, and breast cancer awareness with enduring grace and steady poise.
Laura Lane Welch was born in Midland, Texas, on November 4, 1946. A passionate advocate for education, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Southern Methodist University in 1968 and a Master of Science in Library Science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1973, working as a dedicated public school teacher and librarian in Houston, Dallas, and Austin. She married George W. Bush in 1977, serving as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000, where she founded the Texas Book Festival.
As First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009, Mrs. Bush brought steady reassurance to the nation during the national crisis following September 11, 2001. She co-founded the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., with the Library of Congress, drawing hundreds of thousands of readers together. She became a pioneering international voice for the rights of Afghan women and girls, delivering the weekly presidential radio address in November 2001—the first First Lady ever to deliver the full address on her own.
Her humanitarian efforts extended across Africa and the Middle East through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and global breast cancer screening initiatives. Following her time in the White House, she co-founded the George W. Bush Institute’s Women’s Initiative and published her bestselling memoir Spoken from the Heart (2010), remaining an active steward of global literacy and ocean conservation.
Notable Achievements & Works
- Co-founding the National Book Festival with the Library of Congress
- First Lady of the United States (2001–2009)
- Advancing the education and rights of Afghan women and children
- Author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Spoken from the Heart (2010)
- Pioneering global health partnerships for breast cancer awareness and PEPFAR
