George H.W. Bush buoyed by world tributes to wife

IN HIS first public comments since his wife’s death, former US president George H.W. Bush says he used to tease his spouse of 73 years that he had a complex about how much people liked her.

Barbara Bush (right) died, while holding her husband’s hand, on Tuesday at their home in Houston, aged 92.

Tributes are rolling in from around the world, from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to a US Navy commander who recalled her handing out cookies to sailors.

“I always knew Barbara was the most beloved woman in the world, and in fact I used to tease her that I had a complex about that fact,” Mr Bush, America’s 41st president, said in a statement yesterday.

Mr Bush referred to his wife as “The Enforcer”, a term of endearment bestowed by her family as she ran their household while he pursued careers in the Texas oil business and then politics and public service.

He said the outpouring of support and friendship toward his wife following her death “is lifting us all up”.

Current first lady Melania Trump, who will attend Barbara Bush’s funeral tomorrow along with several ex-presidents, praised her for putting “family and country above all else”. The funeral will be held at St Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston tomorrow.