Former US President George Herbert Walker Bush dies at 94

George HW Bush presided over the end of the Cold War and routed Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army.

Former US President George Herbert Walker Bush died on Saturday at the age of 94. He was the 41st president of the United States and lived longer than any of his predecessors. 

His son George W Bush confirmed the demise of his father on Saturday. "Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died. George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. 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," George W Bush said in an official statement.

Statement by the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, on the passing of his father this evening at the age 94. pic.twitter.com/oTiDq1cE7h — Jim McGrath (@jgm41) December 1, 2018

The former US President 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.

Bush Senior, as he was popularly known, was suffering from a form of Parkinson's disease due to which he had been confined to a wheelchair or motorised scooter in recent years. He has frequently been in and out of hospitals due to his declining health.

His death comes just eight months after the death of his wife Babara who died at the age of 73. A day after he attended his wife's funeral in April, he was admitted to hospital for a blood infection. He had to be admitted for 13 days. He had attended his wife's funeral in Houston in a wheelchair and wore a pair of colorful socks festooned with books, in honor of his late wife's commitment to literacy. 

The elder Bush, a Republican like his sons, also served as vice president for eight years during Ronald Reagan's two terms as president, before being elected to the White House himself.  He defeated former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, the Democratic nominee, in the 1988 presidential campaign, and lost his 1992 re-election bid to Democrat Bill Clinton.