Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, who presided over the end of the Cold War and routed Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army but lost a chance for a second term after breaking a no-new-taxes pledge, died on Friday at the age of 94, a family spokesman said.
Bush, the 41st president of the United States, lived longer than any of his predecessors. His death at 10:10 p.m. Central time was announced in a statement issued by longtime spokesman Jim McGrath.
“Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died,” his son, former president George W Bush, said in a statement released on Twitter by a family spokesman.
“George HW Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for,” he added.
Statement by President George W. Bush on the death of his father, President George H.W. Bush https://t.co/wDD0vnlN8U pic.twitter.com/t7UsDYSKY8
— The George W. Bush Presidential Center (@TheBushCenter) December 1, 2018
The senior Bush had a lifetime of public service before he became president — as a young Navy pilot in World War II, Texas congressman, CIA director and faithful vice president to Ronald Reagan.
