Ronald Reagan dead at 93

2004-06-06 07:47

Los Angeles - Former US president Ronald Reagan died Saturday at the age of 93 after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease, his office said.

Reagan, a two-term president and former Hollywood star, died at his high-fenced home in the fashionable Bel Air section of Los Angeles shortly before 14:00 on Saturday afternoon.

Reagan's wife of 52 years, Nancy, and their children Ron and Patti had been at the bedside of the 40th president of the United States, his office said.

"Ron and Patti are with him," said Reagan family chief of staff Joanne Drake after the White House was informed that the 40th US president's health had declined in recent days and that the end of his life could be near.

The US leader known as the "Great Communicator," who served as president from 1981-1989, was the longest living US president in history, despite narrowly escaping death in a 1981 assassination attempt in Washington.

A crowd of journalists had gathered outside the Reagan Bel Air home to monitor the trickle of cars coming and going as well as the delivery of a spray of flowers and a cheese basket.

Reagan, once dubbed "The Gipper" after one of his film roles as a football coach, announced to the nation in November 1994 that he was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative brain disorder that leads to mental disorientation and a slow physical decline.

From then on, he led a cloistered existence at home, surrounded by high fences and protected by secret service agents.

Reagan will perhaps be best remembered for his impassioned appeal to then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall before the fall of Europe's communist regime.

He fostered a reputation for toughness that was evident in his foreign policy, leading a campaign against what he called the "evil empire" of the Soviet Union, and then made history with his eventual rapprochement with Moscow and his unusual personal friendship with Gorbachev.

Reagan, a conservative Republican, had served as president of Hollywood's Screen Actor's Guild and as governor of California before he was elected president in 1981

He had two children with Nancy, whom he married in 1952, an adopted son, Michael, as well as a daughter - Maureen - with first wife, the late screen actress Jane Wyman.

Earlier on Saturday, a source close to the entourage of US President George W Bush, in France for Sunday's ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of D-Day, said the White House had been warned the end was near.

"I was told it could be soon," said the official, who asked not to be named. "It could be weeks. It could be months. It was - 'Don't be surprised. Time is getting close. It's not like it's going to be tomorrow."

Rumours about declines in the health of the ailing Reagan had surfaced periodically for years since he went into isolation in his mansion after announcing his illness.

- AFP