Former US President George Herbert Walker Bush dies at 94 Saturday Dec 01,2018

Former US President George Herbert Walker Bush died on Saturday Dec 01,2018 at the age of 94. He was the 41st president of the United States and lived longer than any of his predecessors.

His son George W Bush confirmed the demise of his father on Saturday. "Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died. George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. 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 an official statement.

His death comes just eight months after the death of his wife Babara who died at the age of 73. A day after he attended his wife's funeral in April, he was admitted to hospital for a blood infection. He had to be admitted for 13 days. He had attended his wife's funeral in Houston in a wheelchair and wore a pair of colorful socks festooned with books, in honor of his late wife's commitment to literacy.

The elder Bush, a Republican like his sons, also served as vice president for eight years during Ronald Reagan's two terms as president, before being elected to the White House himself.  He defeated former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, the Democratic nominee, in the 1988 presidential campaign, and lost his 1992 re-election bid to Democrat Bill Clinton.

George HW Bush: a political life

• 1966: Wins seat in House of Representatives
• 1971: Nixon installs him as UN ambassador
• 1974: Heads newly established mission in Beijing
• 1976: Ford makes him CIA director
• 1981-1989: Ronald Reagan's vice-president
• 1989-1993: President of the US; leads US into first Gulf War; copes with collapse of communism in Eastern Bloc

US markets to shut on Wednesday Dec 05,2018 to honour former President George  H W Bush

US financial markets will close Wednesday for a national day of mourning to honour former President George Herbert Walker Bush


The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Inc.’s US equities and options markets and CME Group Inc.’s US-based equity markets will shut, the companies said. They will also observe a moment of silence on Monday. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has also recommended that fixed-income cash markets close on Wednesday, according to a statement.

US financial markets traditionally close following a presidential death. The most recent observation was 2 January 2007, after the death of President Gerald Ford.

“The President will designate Wednesday, December 5th as a National Day of Mourning. He and the First Lady will attend the funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.