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 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. International affairs drove the Bush presidency, which navigated the end of the Cold War and a new era of U.S.–Soviet relations. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Bush successfully pushed for the reunification of Germany in close cooperation with West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, overcoming the reluctance of Gorbachev. He also led an international coalition of countries which invaded and defeated Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in the Gulf War. On a smaller scale he directed a military invasion to overthrow a dictator in Panama. Bush signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created a trilateral trade bloc consisting of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In domestic affairs, Bush faced a large federal budget deficit that had grown to threefold since 1980. Despite insisting he was pledged to not raise taxes, Bush agreed to a budget with the Democratic-controlled Congress that raised taxes and cut spending. Bush appointed two Supreme Court justices, David Souter, who eventually became a member of the Court's liberal bloc, and Clarence Thomas, who became one of the most conservative justices of his era.In the aftermath of allied victory in the Gulf War, Bush was widely considered to be likely to win re-election, but Clinton defeated Bush in large part by focusing on the economy. Despite his defeat, Bush left office with a 56 percent job approval rating, and he remained popular with the public until his death in 2018. Historians generally view Bush as a passive, hands-off president who was "successful in foreign affairs but a disappointment in domestic affairs." In polls of historians and political scientists, Bush is generally ranked as an average or above-average president.