Former President George H.W. Bush has died at the age of 94.
The sad announcement has been made by his son, former President George W. Bush.
George Bush Sr. served as the 41st US president between 1989 and 1993, his term defined by the end of the Cold War and the first Iraq war against Saddam Hussein.
While his health had been failing in recent years, the former president still managed to make public appearances.
George Bush Sr. died at 22:10 local time on November 30, a family spokesperson said.
In April, he was admitted to hospital with a blood infection but had since been discharged. George Bush Sr. was also being treated for a form of Parkinson’s disease.
The former Republican president died seven months after his wife, Barbara.
His son George Bush Jr., who went on to serve as the 43rd US president, said in a statement: “Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died.
“[He] was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for.”
The US flag has been lowered to half mast at the White House.
George Bush Sr.’s single presidential term in office was dominated by foreign policy – the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
He was instrumental in building the international military coalition that forced Iraq’s Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait.
He became president after serving two terms as vice-president to Ronald Reagan, but he suffered the ignominy of becoming a single-term president – defeated by Bill Clinton in the 1992 election amid a weakening economy.
George H.W. Bush’s famous 1988 campaign promise – “Read my lips. No new taxes” – came back to haunt him when he felt compelled to reverse policy.
He entered politics in 1964 after starting a Texan oil business and becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.
During World War Two, George H.W. Bush was an aviator before being shot down by the Japanese in September 1944 while on a bombing raid.
Following his honorable discharge from the navy in 1945, George H.W. Bush married then 18-year-old Barbara Pierce. Their marriage would last 73 years and they would have six children together.
Former First Lady Barbara Bush has died at the age of 92.
Barbara Bush was the matriarchal figure of a political dynasty that included two presidents – her husband George H.W. Bush and son George W. Bush.
She was first lady from 1989 to 1993 and had been in failing health for some time and had declined further medical treatment.
George H.W. Bush, at 93, is the longest-lived US president. Their son, George W. Bush, was elected in 2000 and served two terms as the nation’s 43rd president.
George W. Bush said in a statement: “My dear mother has passed on at age 92. Laura, Barbara, Jenna, and I are sad, but our souls are settled because we know hers was. Barbara Bush was a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions.”
The former president said his mother had “kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end”, adding: “I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother. Our family will miss her dearly, and we thank you all for your prayers and good wishes.”
Barbara Bush was also the mother of Jeb Bush, who served as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007 and unsuccessfully ran for the White House in 2016.
As first lady, she went beyond the traditional role of a political spouse, founding the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy to help parents and children from disadvantaged communities to read and write.
Barbara Bush was a fierce advocate of civil rights and went against many of her husband’s Republican party supporters with her more liberal view on abortion rights.
In a statement from the White House, President Donald Trump said the former first lady would be long remembered for her devotion to country and family, “both of which she served unfailingly well”.
Barack and Michelle Obama also described Barbara Bush as “the rock of a family dedicated to public service” and as “an example of the humility and decency that reflects the very best of the American spirit”.
Former President Bill Clinton said Barbara Bush was “feisty in support of her family and friends, her country and her causes”.
Bill Clinton said he and his wife, Hillary, would “never forget the courtesy she and President Bush showed us”.
Barbara Bush was known for her snow-white hair and was dubbed “The Silver Fox” by her family.
George H.W. Bush, who served as the 41st US president, suffers from a form of Parkinson’s disease and uses a wheelchair.
It was recently announced that Barbara Bush had declined further medical treatment after a series of hospital visits, but the statement did not reveal the nature of her ailments.
The former first lady said she wanted to spend her last days in “comfort care” with her family.
Barbara Bush was born Barbara Pierce, the daughter of Marvin Pierce, publisher of McCall’s magazine. She grew up in Rye, New York.
She met George H.W. Bush in 1941 at a Christmas party in Connecticut and the couple celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in January this year.
They had six children including a daughter, Robin, who died of leukaemia aged three in 1953.
As well as George and Jeb, the other Bush children are Neil, Marvin and Dorothy.
Barbara Bush was one of only two women whose husband and son became US president, and the only one to have seen them both sworn in.
Abigail Adams was married to the second US president, John Adams, and was the mother of the sixth, John Quincy Adams, although she did not live to see their son elected.
A George H.W. Bush spokesman has previously acknowledged the former president has touched several women on the rear.
Rosyln Corrigan said the incident occurred as George H.W. Bush was posing for a photo with her and her mother at the CIA office in The Woodlands, Texas, in November 2003.
“As soon as the picture was being snapped on the one-two-three he dropped his hands from my waist down to my buttocks and gave it a nice, ripe squeeze, which would account for the fact that in the photograph my mouth is hanging wide open,” she said.
The former president was 79-year-old at the time.
Last month, after several other women came forward with similar stories, George H.W. Bush’s spokesman said that due to the former president’s use of a wheel chair, “his arms fall on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures”.
Ex-President George H.W. Bush has issued a second apology to “anyone he has offended” after a second allegation of assault emerged.
Jordana Grolnick told website Deadspin George Bush Sr. groped her in 2016 after announcing his favorite magician was “David Cop-a-Feel”.
Another actress, Heather Lind, had already come forward to say George Bush Sr. had “touched me from behind”.
The former president’s spokesman said it was supposed to put people “at ease”.
In a statement supplied to media outlets, the spokesman said: “At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures.
“To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner.
“Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely.”
Like Heather Lind, Jordana Grolnick shared a photo of the moment the alleged assault took place on social media platform Instagram.
The picture, taken during the interval of a play Jordana Grolnick was performing in, appears to show George Bush’s hand on her bottom.
The actress told Deadspin: “He reached his right hand around to my behind, and as we smiled for the photo he asked the group, <<Do you want to know who my favorite magician is?>>
“As I felt his hand dig into my flesh, he said, <<David Cop-a-Feel!>>”
Heather Lind made a similar allegation against George H.W. Bush, who served one term as president starting in 1989, saying he had “touched me from behind from his wheelchair” and told a “dirty joke” while posing for a photo in an Instagram post which has since been deleted.
The incident allegedly took place during an event in 2014 for the TV show Turn: Washington’s Spies, in which Heather Lind is one of the main cast members.
Heather Lind finished her post with the hashtag #metoo, which has seen widespread use by victims of assault to share their experiences in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood scandal.
In his initial apology, George Bush’s spokesman said the wheelchair-bound former president “most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms Lind”.
George H.W. Bush, the father of former President George W. Bush, who served two terms in the office between 2001 and 2009, suffers from a form of Parkinson’s disease.
Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter have gathered for a concert in aid of victims of the hurricanes which ravaged the US this year.
The five living former presidents appeared in Texas on October 21.
The three Democrats and two Republicans came together behind The One America Appeal, set up to help those caught up in the devastating trails of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
The One America Appeal has raised $31 million so far.
The former presidents launched the appeal in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which caused billions in damage after it made landfall in Texas in August.
However, it has since been expanded to include the communities in Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands which were hit by the storms which followed.
Barack Obama explained to concertgoers in a pre-recorded message: “As former presidents, we wanted to help our fellow Americans begin to recover.”
George W. Bush added: “People are hurting down here but as one Texan put it, we’ve got more love in Texas than water.”
All five presidents appeared on stage for the anthem, before taking their seats to watch acts including Lee Greenwood, who opened with Proud to be an American, and Lady Gaga.
They were not joined by sitting President Donald Trump, who sent a message ahead of the show praising their “wonderful” work and expressing his “deep gratitude”.
Both Barack Obama and George W. Bush have made speeches in the last week which have been seen as veiled criticism of Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House.
Former Republican President George H.W. Bush will allegedly vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton in November.
According to Politico, George H.W. Bush made the pledge to Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, niece to ex-President John F. Kennedy.
George H.W. Bush’s office has not confirmed the report, with a spokesman saying he was checking.
The former president, who held office from 1989 until 1993, has not endorsed Donald Trump.
Neither has his son, Jeb Bush, who unsuccessfully competed for the Republican nomination, or other rivals in the race, Ted Cruz and John Kasich.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, posted a photo on Facebook of a meeting with George H.W. Bush, alongside the caption: “The President told me he’s voting for Hillary!”
However, George H.W. Bush’s spokesman Jim McGrath was cautious, writing: “Those reporting how @GeorgeHWBush will vote this year, it’s not clear anyone was there to verify KKT [Kathleen Kennedy Townsend]. Still checking, keep your powder dry.”
George Bush Sr. has been admitted to hospital after breaking a bone in his neck in a fall at his home in Maine.
The former president’s spokesman, Jim McGarth, said he was in a stable condition and his hospital stay was expected to be brief.
George H.W. Bush, who has Parkinson’s disease and cannot use his legs, celebrated his 90th birthday last year with a sky dive.
The 91-year-old had to go to hospital at the end of last year with shortness of breath.
Jim McGrath said George H.W. Bush, the oldest of the four living former US presidents, would need to wear a neck brace following his fall on July 15 in Kennebunkport.
Jeb Bush has said he admires his father and brother’s presidencies but he is his “own man” on foreign policy.
In a speech in Chicago, the former Florida governor outlined a broad strategy of projecting American power and addressing “the shortfalls in our defense spending”.
Jeb Bush also criticized President Barack Obama for an “inconsistent and indecisive” foreign policy.
He is one of several Republicans expected to run for president in 2016.
Jeb Bush is the brother of former President George W. Bush and son of former President George H.W. Bush.
He has developed campaign infrastructure but has not officially said he is running.
In the speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Jeb Bush says he has been “lucky” to have family who “shaped America’s foreign policy from the Oval Office”.
Photo Reuters
“I recognize that as a result, my views will often be held up in comparison to theirs,” Jeb Bush said.
“But I am my own man – and my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences.”
The Washington Post reported 19 of 21 Jeb Bush’s foreign policy advisors are pulled from his brother and father’s administrations, although many were also considered as advisors to Mitt Romney before he backed out of a run.
Jeb Bush has demurred from answering whether he believes his brother’s choice to go to war in Iraq was appropriate.
During the speech, he criticized Barack Obama as someone who “has left America less influential in the world”.
“I believe fundamentally that weakness invites war … and strength encourages peace,” Jeb Bush said.
Jeb Bush also expressed concern over negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme and backed the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of telephone metadata records of Americans.
President George H.W. Bush remained at Houston Methodist Hospital for a fifth day in a row after experiencing shortness of breath on Tuesday, December 23.
The former president, age 90, “remains in high spirits and continues to make progress, but he will remain at the Houston Methodist Hospital this evening,” said his spokesman, Jim McGrath.
Houston Methodist is the same hospital were George H.W. Bush spent nearly two months for a bronchitis-related cough and other health issues before he was released in January 2013 after treatment.
His most recent public appearance was in November at an event at Texas A&M University that he attended with his son, former President George W. Bush.
George H.W. Bush began experiencing health problems in 1991 when, as president, he entered the hospital with an irregular heartbeat.
Doctors diagnosed him as having Graves Disease, a thyroid condition that, by coincidence, his wife also had.
George H.W. Bush’s family has said publicly the former president was no longer able to walk unassisted, a frustration for a man who enjoyed an active lifestyle of golf, fishing, jogging, and power walks on the beach near his summer home in Maine.
George H.W. Bush celebrated his 90th birthday on June 12 by making a tandem parachute jump near his summer home in coastal Maine.
The US’s 41st president made the jump delivering on a vow he made five years ago even though he can no longer use his legs.
The former president jumped from a helicopter at 6,000 feet harnessed to Sgt. 1st Class Mike Elliott, a retired member of the Golden Knights, the Army’s parachute team, near Kennebunkport. Mike Elliott guided George H.W. Bush to a gentle landing five years ago.
On Thursday morning, the helicopter picked up George H.W. Bush outside his home, known as Walker’s Point. His family transported him from his wheelchair to the chopper, then sang “Happy Birthday” before it took off.
George H.W. Bush could later be seen floating to the ground using a red, white and blue parachute. He landed safely near St. Ann’s Church, where friends and family had gathered, according to a spokesman, out of the sight of reporters.
George H.W. Bush celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump near his summer home in coastal Maine
“He had a big smile for the crowd. You could tell he was exhilarated,” said Diana Untermeyer, a family friend from Houson.
“He’s an amazing man. This is just another sign of that. I think that like most of America, our family loves him to pieces. It was just a real thrill to do this again.”
The jump was kept secret partly to give George H.W. Bush himself the option of bagging it.
Spokesman Jim McGrath said the former president likes both a surprise and an adrenaline rush.
“It’s vintage George Bush,” Jim McGrath said.
“It’s that passion for life. It’s wanting to set a goal, wanting to achieve it. I’m sure part of it is sending a message to others that even in your retirement years you can still find challenges.”
The first time George H.W. Bush jumped from an airplane was when his plane was shot down in World War II over the Pacific. Later, he decided to jump from a plane of his own accord and marked his 75th, 80th and 85th birthdays by skydiving.
The former president said on his 85th birthday that he’d like to do it again on his 90th.
Other birthday festivities included a private dinner with more than 200 relatives and friends, including some from his White House days: press secretary Marlin Fitzwater, White House counsel Boyden Gray and political director Ron Kaufman, Jim McGrath said. His children, including former President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, will be there, Jim McGrath said.
Kennebunkport is a special place for George H.W. Bush. As a boy, he visited the family home at Walker’s Point every summer, except during World War II. The retreat was later dubbed his “summer White House.”
George H.W. Bush now uses a wheelchair or scooter because of a form of parkinsonism that has robbed him of use of his legs.
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