Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron pay tribute to George H W Bush

UK Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday lauded the role of former US President George H W Bush.

Bush, who served as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993, died at the age of 94 on Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that Bush was "a world leader, who strongly supported the alliance with Europe."

UK Prime Minister called Bush "a true friend" to her country and a reliable counterpart of Margaret Thatcher and John Mayor, who chaired the UK Cabinet during Bush's presidency.

"His statesmanship, wisdom, and friendship will be much missed and today we send our deepest condolences to his family and to the American people," May tweeted.

Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Massachusetts. He studied at Phillips Academy Andover boarding school and enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 18. Bush received a Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery while fighting on the Pacific front of the World War II.

After the war, Bush graduated from Yale University and started his path as a politician. In his early political career, Bush served as the US Ambassador to the United Nations, the US Envoy to China and the chief of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Bush lost the 1980 presidential campaign and occupied the position of the vice president in 1981-1989 with Ronald Reagan as the head of the state. In 1988, Bush beat Michael Dukakis in the nationwide presidential election.

In 1989, Bush held a summit with then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta marking the demise of the Cold War and two years later the two leaders signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.