Former US President George HW Bush has died at the age of 94, his son George W Bush has announced.
George Bush Sr, as he was known, passed away at 22:10 local time on Friday (04:10 GMT Saturday), a family spokesperson said.
He was president between 1989 and 1993 after serving two terms as vice-president to Ronald Reagan.
In April, he was admitted to hospital with a blood infection but had since been discharged.
Bush, the 41st US president, died seven months after his wife, Barbara.
“Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died,” George Bush Jr, who went on to serve as the 43rd US president, said in a statement.
“[He] was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for.”
Tributes have poured in for the former republican – current US President Donald Trump praised his “essential authenticity, disarming wit, and unwavering commitment to faith, family and country.”
Who was George HW Bush?
Bush Sr’s single presidential term in office was defined by foreign policy, at a time when communism was collapsing in Eastern Europe.
Despite achieving popularity ratings of 90%, Bush was accused of neglecting domestic affairs and was defeated by Bill Clinton in the 1992 election.
His popularity suffered after he went back on a promise not to raise taxes.
Bush entered politics in 1964 after starting a Texan oil business and becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.
During World War Two, he was an aviator before being shot down by the Japanese in September 1944 while on a bombing raid.
Following his honourable discharge from the navy in 1945, Bush married then 18-year-old Barbara Pierce. Their marriage would last 73 years and they would have six children together.
He is survived by five of his children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and two siblings.
-BBC
