Former US President George HW Bush has died at the age of 94, his son George W Bush has announced.

George Bush Sr, as he was known, passed away on Friday evening, a spokesperson said on behalf of the family.

He was the 41st US president between 1989 and 1993, after serving two terms as vice-president to Ronald Reagan.

In April, he was admitted to a hospital intensive care unit with a blood infection, a week after the death of his wife of 73 years, Barbara.

Despite achieving popularity ratings of 90%, the Republican was accused of neglecting domestic affairs and was defeated by Bill Clinton in the 1992 election.

Bush Sr joined politics in 1964 after starting a Texan oil business and becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.

During World War Two, he was an aviator against the Japanese before being shot down in September 1944 while on a bombing raid.

He is survived by five of his children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and two siblings