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This is a list of international presidential trips made by George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States. George H. W. Bush made 26 international trips to 37 different countries during his presidency, which began on January 20, 1989 and ended on January 20, 1993. [1]
Bush visited six continents: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. He initiated the frequent international travel pace that is the hallmark of the post–Cold War presidency. He went to Europe eleven times, Asia twice, and South America once, along with a number of shorter trips during his four years in office.
The number of visits per country where President Bush travelled are:
Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details | Image | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Canada | Ottawa | February 10 | Met with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. | |
2 | Japan | Tokyo | February 23–25 | Attended the funeral of Emperor Hirohito. Met with Emperor Akihito of Japan, the kings of Belgium, Jordan and Spain, the presidents of Brazil, Egypt, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, the Philippines, Portugal and Zaire, and the prime ministers of Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey. | |
China | Beijing | February 25–27 | Met with President Yang Shangkun and Premier Li Peng. Also met with Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia. | ||
South Korea | Seoul | February 27 | Official visit. Addressed the National Assembly. | ||
3 | Italy | Rome, Nettuno | May 26–28 | Met with President Francesco Cossiga and Prime Minister Ciriaco De Mita. | |
Vatican City | Apostolic Palalce | May 27 | Audience with Pope John Paul II. | ||
Belgium | Brussels | May 28–30 | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting. Present were the heads of state and government of Canada, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. | ||
West Germany | Bonn, Mainz | May 30–31 | Met with Chancellor Helmut Kohl. | ||
United Kingdom | London | May 31 – June 2 | Met with Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. | ||
4 | Poland | Warsaw, Gdańsk | July 9–11 | Met with government and Solidarity leaders. Addressed the National Assembly. | |
Hungary | Budapest | July 11–13 | Met with Hungarian officials. Delivered an address at Karl Marx University. | ||
France | Paris | July 13–17 | Attended the 15th G7 summit. Also attended ceremonies for the bicentennial of the French Revolution. Met with Ivorian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. | ||
Netherlands | The Hague Leiden | July 17–18 | Met with Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers. Delivered a public address. | ||
5 | Costa Rica | San José | October 27–28 | Attended the Hemispheric Summit Meeting. | |
6 | Malta | Valletta, Marsaxlokk | December 1–3 | Attended the Summit Meeting with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. Also met with Maltese Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami. | |
Belgium | Brussels | December 3–4 | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting, and briefed leaders on the Malta U.S.-Soviet Summit Meeting. | ||
7 | France | Marigot, Saint Martin | December 16 | Informal meeting with President François Mitterrand. |
Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details | Image | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
8 | Colombia | Cartagena | February 15 | Attended the Summit Meeting on the Control of Illicit Drug Trafficking with the President Virgilio Barco Vargas, Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora and Peruvian President Alan García Pérez. | |
9 | Canada | Toronto | April 10 | Informal meeting with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. | |
10 | Bermuda | Hamilton | April 13–14 | Informal meeting with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. | |
11 | United Kingdom | London | July 5–6 | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting. | |
12 | Finland | Helsinki | September 8–9 | Attended Summit Meeting with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Issued joint statement on the Persian Gulf crisis. Also met with President Mauno Koivisto. | |
13 | Czechoslovakia | Prague | November 17 | Attended ceremonies commemorating the first anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Addressed the Federal Assembly. | |
Germany | Speyer, Ludwigshafen | November 18 | Met with Chancellor Helmut Kohl. | ||
France | Paris | November 18–21 | Attended the CSCE Summit Meeting and the signing of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. | ||
Saudi Arabia | Jeddah, Dhahran | November 21–22 | Met with King Fahd and the Emir of Kuwait. Addressed U.S. and British military personnel in eastern Saudi Arabia. | ||
Egypt | Cairo | November 22–23 | Discussed the Persian Gulf crisis with President Hosni Mubarak. | ||
Switzerland | Geneva | November 23 | Discussed the Persian Gulf crisis with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. | ||
14 | Mexico | Monterrey, Agualeguas | November 26–27 | State visit. met with President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. | |
15 | Brazil | Brasília | December 3–4 | Met with President Fernando Collor de Mello. Addressed a Joint Session of the Brazilian Congress. | |
Uruguay | Montevideo | December 4–5 | Met with President Luis Alberto Lacalle. Addressed a Joint Session of the Uruguayan Congress. | ||
Argentina | Buenos Aires | December 5–6 | Met with President Carlos Menem. Addressed a Joint Session of the Argentinean Congress. | ||
Chile | Santiago | December 6–7 | Met with President Patricio Aylwin. Addressed a Joint Session of the Chilean Congress. | ||
Venezuela | Caracas | December 7–8 | Met with President Carlos Andrés Pérez. |
Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details | Image | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 | Canada | Ottawa | March 13–14 | Met with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Signed an Air Quality Agreement. | |
17 | France | Fort-de-France, Martinique | March 14 | Discussed the Middle East peace process with President François Mitterrand. | |
Bermuda | Hamilton | March 14–16 | Discussed the Middle East peace process with Prime Minister John Major. | ||
18 | Canada | Toronto | July 9 | Informal Meeting with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. | |
19 | France | Rambouillet | July 14 | Discussed further sanctions against Iraq with President François Mitterrand. | |
United Kingdom | London | July 14–18 | Attended the 17th G7 summit. Also met with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. | ||
Greece | Athens, Souda Bay | July 18–20 | Met with Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis. Addressed U.S. and Greek military personnel. | ||
Turkey | Ankara, Istanbul | July 20–21 | Met with President Turgut Ozal. | ||
20 | Soviet Union | Moscow, Kiev | July 29 – August 1 | Attended the U.S.-Soviet Summit Meeting. Signed the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Addressed the Ukrainian Parliament. | |
21 | Spain | Madrid | October 29–30 | Met with Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez Marquez and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Attended the opening session of the Middle East Peace Conference. | |
22 | Italy | Rome | November 6–8 | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting. | |
Vatican City | Apostolic Palace | November 8 | Audience with Pope John Paul II. | ||
Netherlands | The Hague | November 8–9 | Attended the European Community summit Meeting. |
Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details | Image | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | Australia | Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne | December 31, 1991 – January 3 | Met with Prime Minister Paul Keating and senior Australian officials. Addressed the Australian Parliament. | |
Singapore | Singapore | January 3–5 | Met with President Wee Kim Wee and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Attended a meeting of the ASEAN Business Council. | ||
South Korea | Seoul | January 5–7 | Met with President Roh Tae-woo and senior South Korean officials. Signed a science and technology agreement. Addressed the South Korean National Assembly. Visited U.S. military personnel. | ||
Japan | Kyoto, Kashihara, Tokyo | January 7–10 | Met with Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and senior Japanese officials. | ||
24 | Panama | Panama City | June 11 | Met with President Guillermo Endara. Delivered public addresses. | |
Brazil | Rio de Janeiro | June 12–13 | Attended the Earth Summit Meeting. | ||
25 | Poland | Warsaw | July 5 | Met with President Lech Wałęsa. Attended a memorial service for former Prime Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski. | |
Germany | Munich | July 5–8 | Attended the 18th G7 summit. Also met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. | ||
Finland | Helsinki | July 8–10 | Attended the CSCE Summit Meeting. | ||
26 | Saudi Arabia | Riyadh | December 31 | Met with King Fahd. | |
Somalia | Mogadishu, Baidoa, Baledogle | December 31 – January 2, 1993 | Visited international relief workers and U.S. military personnel. | ||
Russia | Moscow | January 2–3 | Signed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. | ||
France | Paris | January 3–5 | Discussed the Bosnian crisis with President François Mitterrand. |
Multilateral meetings of the following intergovernmental organizations took place during President Bush's term in office (1989–1993).
Group | Year | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | |
G7 | July 14–16 Paris | July 9–11 Houston | July 15–17 London | July 8–10 Munich |
NATO | May 29–30 Brussels | July 5–6 London | November 7–8 Rome | none |
December 4 Brussels | ||||
OSCE | November 19–21 Paris | none | none | July 9–10 Helsinki |
George H. W. Bush's tenure as the 41st president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1989, and ended on January 20, 1993. Bush, a Republican from Texas and the incumbent vice president for two terms under President Ronald Reagan, took office following his landslide victory over Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election. His presidency ended following his defeat in the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton, after one term in office. Bush was the father of the 43rd president, George W. Bush.
Fifteen presidents of the United States have made thirty-four presidential visits to Mexico. The first visit by an incumbent president to Mexico was made in 1909 by William Howard Taft. It was only the second time in U.S. history that a president left the country while in office.
Six United States presidents have made presidential visits to Sub-Saharan Africa. The first was an offshoot of Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretive World War II trip to French Morocco for the Casablanca Conference. More recently, Barack Obama, the first U.S. president with African American ancestry, visited his father's native Kenya in 2015. Of the 46 African nations identified as sub-Saharan by the United Nations, 14 have been visited by an American president.
Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. The first trip by an incumbent president to Eastern Europe was made by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, to the Soviet Union, and was an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. The first trip by an incumbent president to Northern Asia was made by Gerald Ford in 1974, also to the Soviet Union, and was an offshoot of U.S.–Soviet Détente during the Cold War. The first presidential visits to other Eastern European countries occurred during this era of easing geo-political tensions as well.
Several United States presidents have made presidential visits to Australia and New Zealand. The first visit by an incumbent to these Australasian nations was made in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson. His three-day five-city visit to Australia was intended as a show of gratitude to the Australian nation for its then emphatic support for the Vietnam War. Four presidents have traveled there since. Prior to arriving in Australia, Johnson visited New Zealand. He went primarily to shore up support for the war in Vietnam. Only one sitting president has visited since.
Eleven United States presidents and three presidents-elect have made thirty-four presidential visits to Central America. The first visit by an incumbent president to a country in Central America was made in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt. The trip, to Panama, was the first international presidential trip in U.S. history, and signaled the start of a new era in how presidents conducted diplomatic relations with other countries. In 1928, Herbert Hoover, during the time when he was president-elect, visited the region during his historic "good will" trip, to Central and South America.
Nine presidents of the United States have made presidential visits to North Africa. The first trips by a sitting president to countries in North Africa were those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and were an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. Of the five countries in the region, only Libya has not yet been visited by an American president.
Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to the Middle East. The first trips by an incumbent president to countries in the Middle East were those by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and were an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. To date, 16 visits have been made to Egypt, 12 to Saudi Arabia, 11 to Israel, six to both Iraq, Jordan and Turkey, four to Iran, three to the Palestinian Territories, two to both Kuwait and Syria, one to Bahrain, Georgia, Oman, Qatar, and to the United Arab Emirates. No incumbent American president has yet visited Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Yemen.
Eleven United States presidents and one president-elect have made presidential visits to South America. The first trip was made by Herbert Hoover in 1928. During this tour he delivered twenty-five speeches in ten Central and South American countries, almost all of which stressed his plans to reduce American political and military interference in Latin American affairs. In sum, he pledged that the United States would act as a "good neighbor."
There have been twenty-four United States presidential visits to Southeast Asia by ten U.S. presidents. Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first incumbent president to visit a Southeast Asian country when he visited the Philippines in 1960. Since then, every president, except John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, has travelled to the region. The Philippines, a former U.S. colony (1902–1946) and a close U.S. ally, is the most visited Southeast Asian country with ten visits, followed by Indonesia with nine, and Vietnam with eight. Of the eleven sovereign states in the region, all but East Timor have been visited by a sitting American president.
Eight presidents of the United States have made presidential visits to South Asia. The first trip by a sitting president to South Asia was by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959. Of the eight countries in the region, only 4 of them have been visited by a sitting American president: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The other four countries, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, have never been visited by a sitting American president.
Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to East Asia. The first presidential trip to a country in East Asia was made by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. Since then, all presidents, except John F. Kennedy, have traveled to one or more nations in the region while in office.
Thirteen United States presidents have made presidential visits to Southern Europe. Woodrow Wilson became the first incumbent president to visit a Southern European country in January 1919 in the aftermath of World War I. Visits occurring during the 1940s through 1980s were offshoots of American diplomatic interactions during World War II and then the Cold War.
Thirteen United States presidents have made presidential visits to Western Europe. The first visits by an incumbent president to countries in Western Europe were made in 1918 and 1919 by Woodrow Wilson in the aftermath of World War I. He was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts. Visits occurring during the 1940s through 1980s were offshoots of American diplomatic interactions following World War II and during the Cold War. To date, 41 visits have been made to France, 31 to Germany, 21 to Belgium, 11 to Switzerland, six to Austria, and five to the Netherlands. No president has yet visited Liechtenstein, Luxembourg or Monaco.
Seven United States presidents have made presidential visits to Northern Europe. Richard Nixon became the first incumbent president to visit a Northern European country when he went to Iceland in 1973. The first trips were an offshoot of the general easing of the geo-political tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. To date, every nation in the region has been visited at least twice: Finland (7), Denmark (4), Latvia (3), Estonia (2), Iceland (2), Norway (2), Sweden (2), and Lithuania (2).