Former president, who has died at 94, helped end nuclear arms race and bring down Berlin wall, but faced criticism for Gulf war and elitism

Donald Trump, George W Bush and the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev yesterday led global tributes to George HW Bush, the 41st US president who died on Friday, aged 94.

Bush was hailed for his long public service, global leadership at the end of the cold war, and a domestic commitment to bipartisanship.

A second world war veteran, he was also celebrated as the last member of the “greatest generation” to occupy the Oval Office, and remembered also for his loving 73-year marriage to Barbara, the longest between a president and first lady.

Condolences poured in from politicians and public figures. Disabled Americans also said landmark anti-discrimination legislation he shepherded through Congress transformed millions of lives.

At the White House, the flag was lowered to half-mast and, in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the G20 gathering of world leaders, Trump issued a statement paying tribute. “Melania and I join with a grieving nation to mourn the loss of former President George HW Bush, who passed away last night.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Barbara and George Bush in 2012. They were married for 73 years. Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

“Through his essential authenticity, disarming wit, and unwavering commitment to faith, family, and country, President Bush inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service – to be, in his words, ‘a thousand points of light’ illuminating the greatness, hope and opportunity of America to the world.”

Trump also cancelled a planned press conference in Argentina on Saturday “out of respect for the Bush family”, with whom Trump has clashed bitterly in the past.

George W Bush, himself the 43rd president, announced the death of his “dear Dad”, the occupant of the White House between 1989 and 1993. “George HW Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for,” he said. “The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens.”

Gorbachev sent his “deepest condolences” and said Bush had been a “true partner”. The pair signed the strategic arms reduction treaty in 1991, committing to reducing stockpiles of long-range nuclear weapons and heralding the end of the cold war. “I have a lot of memories associated with this person,” he said.

“We had a chance to work together during the years of tremendous changes. It was a dramatic time that demanded great responsibility from everyone. The result was an end to the cold war and the nuclear arms race,” he said.

Bush does not leave an entirely unblemished legacy; critics, particularly on social media, pointed to the so-called Willie Horton ad that was at the heart of his successful 1988 campaign. The ad, which linked the Democratic candidate to a convicted rapist, was widely condemned as racist. And even strong admirers conceded that his elite upbringing, privileged lifestyle and focus on global affairs may have alienated many voters.

John Major, who became a “lifelong friend” of Bush’s when his 1990-1997 term as prime minister coincided with the end of Bush’s presidency, said Bush “saw America’s obligation to the world and honoured it.

“But perhaps it was because he concentrated so much on America’s standing in the world and foreign affairs, that he was not seen so much as someone looking after the domestic interests of America,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Alongside former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, in 1999, celebrating 10 years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Photograph: pool/Reuters

A wealthy, powerful member of a political dynasty, both Bush and his son came to embody for some voters an increasingly entrenched elite. Both father and son were members of the secret Skull and Bones society at Yale that would provide professional and personal networks to them for years. Resentment of that privilege may have helped cost him a second term – he lost to Bill Clinton in 1992 – and later fuelled the resentment that populists including Trump would ride to power, observers say. Bush was badly damaged during the election campaign when he struggled to respond to a woman who asked how he could address the economic struggles of ordinary people when he had “no experience with what’s ailing them”.

Others, though, mourned a man of care and compassion. “Remembering President George HW Bush and the Americans With Disabilities Act,” actress Marlee Matlin, who herself is deaf, wrote on Twitter.

Before moving into the White House, Bush had served two terms in Congress, headed the CIA, and was chairman of the Republican party, represented the US in China and at the UN, and served eight years as vice-president to Ronald Reagan.

Those years of service, and a bipartisan approach that looks both antiquated and admirable in today’s increasingly acrimonious capital, were at the heart of many US tributes from both sides of the political divide.

“George HW Bush’s life is a testament to the notion that public service is a noble, joyous calling. And he did tremendous good along the journey,” said former president Barack Obama, who had visited Bush in Houston earlier last week, for a final meeting in what had become a warm friendship.

“It’s a legacy of service that may never be matched, even though he’d want all of us to try.” Bill Clinton, Bush’s 1992 nemesis, said he and Hillary gave thanks for a “great long life of service, love and friendship”. Bush’s generous letter to Clinton, after losing the presidency to him, has long been hailed as a model of grace and patriotism.

“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,” Clinton added. “He never stopped serving. I saw it up close.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest With US and British troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving day, during the first Gulf war, November 1990. Photograph: Rick Wilking/Reuters

Tributes poured in from world leaders, including Kuwait, where his decision to launch the 1991 Gulf war to end Iraq’s annexation of its tiny neighbour is still remembered with gratitude. “[His support] will remain in Kuwait’s collective memory and will not be forgotten,” said emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The conflict’s legacy beyond Kuwait is less clear cut; although Bush got UN backing for his war, it is seen by many as the start of a long American preoccupation with Iraq that led to brutal civil war, the rise of extremism and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Germans remembered the man in power when the Berlin wall came down. “We are mourning a great statesman and a friend of Germany ... [Bush] courageously seized the opportunity to end the cold war,” said foreign minister Heiko Maas. “He is also an architect of German unity. He supported it from the beginning without reservations.”

British leaders from past and present joined the chorus, with the prime minister, Theresa May, saying Bush was “a great statesman and a true friend of our country” and applauding the “ethos of public service” which was his guiding thread.

Born in Milton, Massachusetts, in 1924 to Dorothy Walker and Prescott Bush

Military service Flew 58 combat missions in the second world war

Post war Married Barbara Pierce in 1945, and went on to Yale, graduating in economics

Political career Entered Congress in 1966; made UN ambassador in 1971; head of CIA in 1976; vice-president 1980; elected president 1988; lost office 1992