| abstract | - George Augustine Washington (born February 22, 1954) is the 45th and current President of the United States. He was born in Colonial Beach, Virginia; the first child of Augustine Washington and Mary Ball Washington. In the summer of 1966, Washington's family moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia. After he graduated from Princess Anne High School in 1972, he went on to The College of William & Mary. During summers before and after his junior year, Washington worked as an assistant surveyor for the construction firm The Ohio Land Company. He graduated from William & Mary in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army via the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Shortly afterwards, Washington married the former Martha Dandridge; whom he'd been dating for over three years. While at UVA, he decided to become an infantry officer and paratrooper. Upon completing the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Washington attended the U.S. Army Airborne School. Afterwards, he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division as a platoon leader within the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Eventually, Washington rose to the position of company executive officer and then company commander after being promoted to Captain. He was later elevated to the position of assistant battalion operations officer. In October 1983, Washington was deployed with his battalion to the country of Grenada to evacuate U.S. citizens and establish a U.S.-aligned government during Operation Urgent Fury. Upon returning to the United States, he was made battalion logistics officer of 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. After being promoted to Major in 1986, Washington was made battalion operations officer. In March 1988, he deployed with the battalion to Honduras as part of Operation Golden Pheasant. Washington later participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama from December 1989 to January 1990. In August 1990, he was deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield and then later participated in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. In May of 1992, Washington was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and became the battalion commander of 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In that capacity, he led the battalion in providing humanitarian assistance in South Florida following Hurricane Andrew. Upon being promoted to Colonel in 1998, Washington was made commander of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In July 2002, the regiment was deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. In January 2003, Washington was promoted to Brigadier General. Soon after, he became the 82nd Airborne Division deputy commander for operations. In January 2005, Washington was promoted to Major General and made commander of the 82nd Airborne Division while elements of the division were engage in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. With numerous commendations, he left the Army after thirty years of distinguished service in June of 2006. Washington then returned to Virginia Beach with his wife Martha and joined the agricultural company Mount Vernon Corporation, as an operating partner. In August 2008, he announced his candidacy for the 2009 Virginia Gubernatorial election. Washington accepted the Federalist Party of Virginia's nomination for the governorship at the Federalist State convention in May 2009. On November 3, 2009, he was elected 71st Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia with 59% of the vote. Washington was inaugurated on January 16, 2010 at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia. On August 13, 2011, he announced that he was running for the Federalist nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election. On May 29, 2012, Washington secured the nominating threshold of 1,144 delegates to become the Federalist Party's presumptive nominee with his victory in the Texas presidential primary. On August 15, 2012, he announced the selection of Senator John Adams of Massachusetts as his vice-presidential running mate. On August 30, 2012, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Washington formally accepted the Federalist Party's nomination at the 2012 Federalist National Convention. On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, he was elected 45th president of the United States, beating fellow Virginia native Democratic-Republican Senator Thomas Jefferson. Washington received 395 votes in the Electoral College and 56% in the popular vote. He was officially sworn into the presidency by Chief Justice of the United States John Jay on January 20, 2013 and then formally inaugurated on January 21, 2013.
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