Former US President George HW Bush dead at 94
Former US President George Bush died late last night at the age of 94.
Bush, the 41st US President, died at 10.10pm Central time at his home in Houston, according to a spokesperson.
He was the father of George W Bush, the 43rd US President who served two terms during the 2000s, and Jeb Bush, former Florida governor who unsuccessfully sought the 2016 Republican Party presidential nomination.
George W Bush said: “The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens.”
Bush Senior served as vice-president for eight years during Ronald Reagan’s two terms, before being elected to the White House as the Republican candidate in 1988, defeating former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, the Democratic nominee.
He only served one term, losing a re-election bid to Bill Clinton in 1992.
His death came seven months after that of his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, to whom he was married for 73 years.
Bush Senior was admitted to hospital with a blood infection that led to sepsis a day after her funeral in April.
In a statement, US President Donald Trump said: "Melania and I join with a grieving nation to mourn the loss of former President George HW Bush."
He added: "Through his essential authenticity, disarming wit, and unwavering commitment to faith, family and country, President Bush inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service.”
And concluded: “Our hearts ache with his loss, and we, with the American people, send our prayers to the entire Bush family, as we honour the life and legacy of 41.”
Bush Senior oversaw the defeat of Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War and the end of the Cold War with the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries.
However, a stagnant domestic economy and a broken pledge on not raising taxes hurt him politically and he was defeated by Clinton in the 1992 election.
He was born in 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts, son of a wealthy US senator.
He joined the US navy at 18 to serve in the second world war, flying 58 missions off carrier and surviving being shot down over the Pacific.
After the war he married Barbara Pierce with who he had six children.
He joined Yale, where he captained the baseball team, and after graduating moved to Texas to work in the oil business.
He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1996, serving two terms before being appointed by President Richard Nixon as US ambassador to the United Nationa.s
President Gerald Ford later made him an envoy to China and then director of the Central Intelligence Agency.