Laura Bush

Laura Welch Bush (born November 4, 1946) is the wife of President George W. Bush and serves as First Lady of the United States.

Laura Welch was born in Midland, Texas, the only child of Harold and Jenny Welch. She met George W. Bush in 1977 at the home of mutual friends and married him in November of that year. She is a former schoolteacher and librarian. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1968 from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Bush earned a Master of Science degree in Library Science in 1973 from the University of Texas at Austin. She is the second First Lady (after Hillary Clinton) to hold a post graduate degree. As First Lady, she has championed education causes and launched the first National Book Festival. Bush has taken a decidedly less prominent role in policy-making than her predecessors. 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.

The Bushes have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, currently in college.

On November 6, 1963, Laura Welch (age 17) ran a stop sign in Midland while driving a Chevrolet sedan. She struck a Corvair sedan driven by an acquaintance, Michael Douglas (also age 17), who was fatally wounded. She and her passenger, Judy Dykes (also 17) were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital. Welch was not charged.