Former US President George HW Bush has died at the age of 94 at home in Houston, Texas.
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, he still managed to make public appearances.
The former president died at 22:10 local time on Friday (04:10 GMT Saturday), a family spokesperson said.
In April, he was admitted to hospital with a blood infection but had since been discharged. Bush was also being treated for a form of Parkinson’s disease.
He died seven months after his wife, Barbara.
“Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died,” his son George Bush Jr, who went on to serve as the 43rd US president, said in a statement.
“[He] was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for.”
Tributes have poured in for the former Republican – current US President Donald Trump praised his “essential authenticity, disarming wit, and unwavering commitment to faith, family and country.”
The US flag has been lowered to half mast at the White House.
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.
Bush 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.
His famous 1988 campaign promise – “Read my lips. No new taxes” – came back to haunt him when he felt compelled to reverse policy. (Excerpts from BBC)
