Former President George H.W. Bush, President-elect Barack Obama, President George W. Bush, former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter stand in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Jan. 7, 2009.
On April 25, President Barack Obama will be united with his four living predecessors in Dallas for the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University, officials confirmed Tuesday.
According to White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest, both Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be on hand when the 43rd President’s library and museum are dedicated. The last time all five met was in January 2009 before Obama was sworn in, in a meeting and lunch hosted by Bush in the Oval Office for the members of the “world’s most exclusive club.”
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President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara will attend, as will President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn will also be there, according to spokeswoman Deanna Congileo. Clinton will be delivering her first paid speech since leaving office the night before the ceremony, 15 miles away at the Four Seasons Resort outside Dallas. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, 91, will not be attending the ceremony.
“President Obama and the First Lady look forward to participating in the formal opening of a library that will be dedicated to a President who led our country in difficult times at home and abroad,” Earnest tells TIME. “It’s difficult to fully comprehend what it’s like to serve as President of the United States unless you’ve done it — and President Obama has developed a good relationship with both President George W. Bush and President George H.W. Bush. He has routinely expressed his deep appreciation for the 43rd President’s commitment to this country we love, and is looking forward to returning to Texas later this month.”
The 226,000-sq.-ft. facility houses records of the Bush Administration — including artifacts like the bullhorn Bush used to speak to first responders at Ground Zero three days after 9/11 — and a museum with a replica of the Oval Office and exhibits on some of his most notable policy decisions.
The opening of a presidential library is traditionally attended by the living and former Presidents, with one memorable exception. Carter skipped the 1990 opening of the Nixon library in Yorba Linda, Calif., citing scheduling conflicts. Instead he toured Temple Square in Salt Lake City. A year later, he canceled plans to attend the Reagan library opening to monitor elections in Zambia, but ultimately reversed course, flying from the country with hours to spare before the opening on Nov. 4, 1991.
Obama has yet to decide on the location of his library and museum, but already the University of Chicago and the University of Hawaii, among other institutions, are vying to host the facilities. The Associated Press reported in March that officials from both schools have toured other libraries in anticipation of Obama’s decision.