Former U.S. president George H.W. Bush dies at 94

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Europe

03:14

George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States, has died at age 94.

The former president passed away on Friday night at 10.10 p.m. Central Time, his family spokesperson Jim McGrath confirmed.

"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 Jim McGrath.

Born on June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts, the 94-year-old has suffered from illness in recent years and passed away less than eight months after the passing of his wife Barbara, to whom he was married for 73 years.

Former U.S. presidents and former U.S. first ladies (L-R) Laura Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and U.S. first lady Melania Trump pose with former U.S. president George H.W. Bush at the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush in Houston, Texas, April 21, 2018. /VCG Photo‍.

Before entering the Oval Office, Bush boasted the longest political resume of any president in modern times: Vice president, Congressman, United Nations ambassador, Republican national chairman, U.S. liaison to China and director of the CIA.

As the first sitting vice president to be elected to the presidency since 1836, Bush was also only the second person in US history, the first is one of the U.S. founding fathers John Adams, to see his own son follow in his presidential footsteps when George W. Bush was elected in 2000.

Former president George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush listen as their son, former US president George W. Bush, delivers the commencement address during the Texas A&M University graduation ceremony at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas, December 12, 2008. /VCG Photo

The US leader was a foreign policy stalwart who declared a "new world order" in 1990 and drove Iraq from Kuwait but saw his military intervention in the Middle East serve as a harbinger of chaos to come.

The decorated war pilot and former CIA chief suffered the ignominy of being a one-term president, denied a second term over a weak economy when he lost the 1992 election to upstart Democrat Bill Clinton.

Former US presidents George H.W. Bush, left, and George W. Bush attend the George W. Bush Presidential Center dedication ceremony in Dallas, Texas, April 25, 2013. /VCG Photo

One of his sons, former president George W. Bush, served two terms in the White House from 2001 through 2008, and the other one, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush unsuccessfully sought the 2016 Republican nomination for president.

The elder Bush is survived by his five children and 17 grandchildren. Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course, a family spokesman said.