Ex-President Ronald Reagan dies
Ronald Reagan was president for eight years
Former US President Ronald Reagan has died, aged 93, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.
He died at home in Los Angeles, where his family were with him.
Current US President George W Bush reacted to news of Ronald Reagan’s death with the words, “It’s a sad day for America,” a spokeswoman said.
Reagan’s White House tenure – from 1981 to 1989 – was marked by the climax of the Cold War and the beginning of the end of Soviet communism.
Ronald Reagan had not been seen in public for several years recently, having spent them being looked after by his wife Nancy.
RONALD REAGAN
1911: Born in Tampico, Illinois
1937: Wins Hollywood contract
1966-74: Serves as governor of California
1981-89: Serves as 40th president of the United States
Mar 1981: Survives an assassination attempt
1994: Reveals he has Alzheimer’s Disease
Obituary
Reagan revealed in November 1994 that he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, which destroys brain cells and causes memory loss.
Last month, Mrs Reagan revealed that her husband’s illness had got worse.
“Ronnie’s long journey has taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him,” she said.
Reagan’s body will be taken to his presidential library and museum in Simi Valley, California and then flown to Washington for a state funeral. His body will then return to California for burial near his library in California.
Reagan was the 40th president of the US, taking office at the age of 69, the oldest president to do so. He lived longer than any US president.
Before entering politics he had a career in Hollywood films, but never made it big. He described himself as the Errol Flynn of the B-movies.
‘Humour and humanity’
World figures have been paying tribute to the former leader.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has also spoken warmly of the man many regarded as her ideological soulmate during the Cold War years.
“President Reagan was one of my closest political and dearest personal friends,” she said.
She credited him with having “won the Cold War for liberty… without a shot being fired.”
“To have achieved so much against so many odds and with such humour and humanity made Ronald Reagan a truly great American hero.”
Former US President George Bush remembered Reagan’s public speaking skills, describing his “many speeches that could just muster the best in us as a country”.
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June 6, 2004 at 12:00 am