Former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised former President George H.W. Bush late Friday after his family announced that he had died at age 94.
“Hillary and I mourn the passing of President George H.W. Bush, and give thanks for his great long life of service, love, and friendship,” Bill Clinton wrote in a statement released early Saturday.
“I will be forever grateful for the friendship we formed,” he continued. “From the moment I met him as a young governor invited to his home in Kennebunkport, I was struck by the kindness he showed to Chelsea, by his innate and genuine decency, and by his devotion to Barbara, his children, and their growing brood.”
{mosads}The Clintons went on to laud the former president for his service to the U.S. during his many years of high-profile appointments.
“Few Americans have been — or will ever be — able to match President Bush’s record of service to the United States and the joy he took every day from it; from his military service in World War II, to his work in Congress, the United Nations, China, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Vice Presidency and the Presidency, where he worked to move the post Cold War world toward greater unity, peace, and freedom,” they added.
“He never stopped serving. I saw it up close, working with him on tsunami relief in Asia and here at home after Hurricane Katrina,” Bill Clinton wrote. “His remarkable leadership and great heart were always on full display.”
Clinton called his friendship with the late president “one of my life’s greatest gifts,” writing that he was “profoundly grateful” for every minute he spent with his predecessor.
Bush’s family announced his death Friday in a statement released by his son, former President George W. Bush. The statement described the family’s patriarch “as a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for.” No cause of death has been given.