Tributes for Bush Sr
TRIBUTES to former US President George H.W. Bush have poured in from around the world, as global leaders honoured him for his role in helping to end the Cold War and reduce the danger of nuclear annihilation.
Bush, the 41st US president, also routed President Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army in the 1991 Gulf War but lost his chance for a second term in the White House after breaking a no-new-taxes pledge.
The last leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, with whom Bush signed a strategic arms reduction treaty, said many of his memories were linked with the former US president.
“We happened to work together in years of great changes. It was a dramatic time demanding huge responsibility from everyone,” Gorbachev said.
Bush’s death on Friday at age 94 was announced by longtime spokesman Jim McGrath.
No further details about the circumstances of his death were immediately available.
Speaking in Buenos Aires at the G20 summit, US President Donald Trump said Bush Sr was “a high quality man” who led an “exemplary” life.
“He was a very fine man. I met him on numerous occasions. He was just a high quality man who truly loved his family,” Trump said.
In Houston, people left flowers at iron gates leading to the street of Bush Sr’s home and at a bronze statue of him in a city park.
The White House said a state funeral was being arranged at the National Cathedral in Washington.
The president, who plans to attend the funeral with first lady Melania Trump, also designated a national day of mourning on Wednesday and ordered the lowering of the American flag for 30 days.
Former presidents including Jimmy Carter remembered Bush as a leader of grace and humility.
“His administration was marked by grace, civility and social conscience,” Carter said.
Barack Obama described Bush as “a patriot and humble servant” while Bill Clinton, who defeated Bush in the 1992 presidential election, recalled his “great long life of service, love and friendship”.
Bush was the father of for- mer president George W. Bush, who served two terms in the 2000s, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who unsuccessfully sought the 2016 Republican nomination for president.
His death came seven months after that of his wife, Barbara, to whom he was married for 73 years.
“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 a statement.
A US naval aviator during World War II, the elder Bush also served as vice president for eight years during Ronald Reagan’s two terms as president.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said Bush Sr’s ethos of public service was the guiding thread of his life and “an example to us all”.