Bush snr – tributes pour in
The 41st US president dies, aged 94
HE WAS president for only four years (1989-1993), but George Herbert Walker Bush shaped US history for decades, taking on tough jobs from Beijing to the CIA, ousting Iraqi forces from Kuwait, sealing a breakthrough budget deal that cost him an election and fathering a future president.
He died on Friday at the age of 94, his family said. His passing came seven months after the death of his wife, Barbara, to whom he was married for 73 years.
His presidency, which ran from 1989 to 1993, was defined by two events – his aggressive response to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and the soon-tobe-broken “read my lips” pledge he made not to raise taxes while running for president in 1988.
At a time when the Cold War was ending and the influence of Sovietstyle communism was withering, Bush’s military and diplomatic actions firmly cast the US as the world’s leading superpower.
After Bush emphatically said Hussein’s aggression “will not stand”, Us-led forces routed Iraq’s army in the Gulf War, driving it from Kuwait while stopping short of taking Baghdad, Iraq’s capital.
Twenty months later, in 1992, the Republican Bush lost his bid for re-election to Democrat Bill Clinton.
Despite a broad coalition that included several Arab states, US involvement in the Gulf War was seen as a violation of Arab sovereignty by some in the Middle East, and led a few militant groups – namely Osama bin Laden’s al-qaeda – to turn their focus toward fighting US influence.
A decade later, the presidency of Bush’s son, George W Bush, would be jolted by al-qaeda’s deadly hijacking attacks on the US on September 11, 2001.
The Bushes were only the second father and son to serve as US presidents – the first being John Adams (1797-1801) and John Quincy Adams (1825-1829).
Former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev was among the many political leaders who expressed his “deep condolences” to the Bush family.
Gorbachev worked closely with Bush to bring an end to the Cold War in the late 1980s and 1990s, and lauded him for his abilities as a politician and his personal character.
“It was a time of great change,” he told the Interfax news agency, “demanding great responsibility from everyone. The result was the end of the Cold War and nuclear arms race.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the thoughts of the South African people were with the American people, and in particular the Bush family, who are mourning the death of one of their leaders.
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, president of the IFP, said “America had lost a great leader, a patriot and a dedicated servant of his people”.
“He remained a great supporter and friend of South Africa. I will remember him as level-headed but resolute, humble leader.” |