THE MAN WHO ENDED COLD WAR WITHOUT FIRING A SINGLE SHOT
Obama leads tributes after former US president dies
George Bush, the US president who helped end the Cold War “without firing a shot” has died aged 94.
The tribute from former president Barack Obama was one of many that flooded in for the gentlemanly and well-liked elder statesman of US politics.
Bush, father of US president George W Bush, died eight months after wife Barbara, who he was married to for 73 years.
Obama and his wife Michelle said Bush’s life was “a testament to the notion that public service is a noble, joyous calling. He did tremendous good along the journey”.
They added: “When democratic revolutions bloomed across eastern Europe, it was his steady, diplomatic hand that made possible an achievement once thought anything but – ending the Cold War without firing a shot.”
The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, who worked closely with Bush as his regime began to collapse, said: “We happened to work together in years of great changes... demanding huge responsibility from everyone.
“The result was the end of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race.
“I pay tribute to George Bush’s contribution towards this historic achievement. He was a genuine partner.”
The 41st US president passed away at his home in Houston, Texas, on Friday night.
His family said: “George HW Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for.”
Bush snr’s presidency was dominated by foreign policy, including forging a global coalition in 1991 to oust Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces that had invaded Kuwait in 1990.
The Gulf War was a huge success but Bush was undone at home as the US struggled to emerge from recession.
A 1988 pledge of: “Read my lips. No new taxes,” came back to haunt him later as Congress forced him into a U-turn.
Bill Clinton, who defeated Bush in the 1992 election, said yesterday: “Few Americans have been – or will ever be – able to match president Bush’s record of service to the US and the joy he took every day from it.”
He was remembered with great affection by Sir John Major, who was prime minister during Bush’s presidency.
Major described him as: “Truly a citizen of the world, not just president of one country.”
He added: “He was one of the most deep down decent people I have ever known.”
President Donald Trump praised Bush for his “sound judgment, common sense and unflappable leadership”.
There was no love lost between the men. An appalled Bush told a biographer that Trump lacked the “humility” required of a good president.
The Republican stalwart even cast his ballot for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Born in 1924 into a tradition of public service, Bush was the son of senator Prescott Bush.
During World War II, the 20-year-old pilot survived being shot down over the Pacific when he was rescued by a submarine after four hours in the water.
He studied at Yale University then built up an oil business before entering the House of Representatives in 1966.
President Richard Nixon appointed him ambassador to the UN in 1971, then Republican National Committee chairman during the Watergate crisis.
Bush went on to become the US envoy to China before becoming CIA director in 1976.
After his 1980 presidential campaign fell short, he served two terms as Ronald Reagan’s vice-president before winning in 1988 to become president.
He holds the record as the longest lived former president, with Jimmy Carter now only 109 days behind.
Bush’s daughter Robin died of leukaemia in 1953, aged three, a tragedy that affected him profoundly.
The former president will be buried beside her and Barbara at his presidential library in College Station, Texas.