George Washington was the first president of the United States of America under the current U.S. Constitution, serving from 1789 to 1797.

He was unanimously elected in the first U.S. presidential election in 1788 and took the oath of office on April 30, 1789, in New York City. In that role, he established many traditions of the presidency, which is why he is universally credited and officially recognized as “the first president of the United States.”

Some historians and popular articles sometimes point out earlier “presidents” who served under the Articles of Confederation or in the Continental Congress, but these were different offices in a different system and are not counted in the formal list of U.S. presidents that begins with George Washington.