Former US President Ronald Reagan has died, aged 93, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
He died at his house in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles in California. He had recently suffered from pneumonia.
Reagan's wife, Nancy, and various family members were gathered at his bedside.
"My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has passed away after 10 years of Alzheimer's at 93 years of age," she said in a brief statement.
"We appreciate everyone's prayers over the years."
On hearing the news, current US President George Bush said it was "a sad day for America".
Former British PM Margaret Thatcher hailed Reagan as "a truly great American hero".
"President Reagan was one of my closest political and dearest personal friends," she said.
"He will be missed not only by those who knew him and not only by the nation that he served so proudly and loved so deeply, but also by millions of men and women who live in freedom today because of the policies he pursued."
He is attributed with winning the Cold War.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Queen is saddened by the news."
The film star turned politician was American President between 1981 and 1989.
He was voted into office in a conservative revival that changed America's political and economic landscape for years.
He had two children with wife Nancy, whom he married in 1952, as well as an adopted son, Michael, and a daughter, Maureen, with first wife Jane Wyman, now deceased.
After announcing to the world in 1994 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the 40th US president said he had begun "the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life".
His body is expected to be taken to his presidential library and museum in Simi Valley, California, and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.
His funeral is expected to take place at the National Cathedral, an event likely to be attended by leaders from across the world.
Mr Reagan's body will then be returned to California for a sunset burial at his library.
He died at his house in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles in California. He had recently suffered from pneumonia.
Reagan's wife, Nancy, and various family members were gathered at his bedside.
"My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has passed away after 10 years of Alzheimer's at 93 years of age," she said in a brief statement.
"We appreciate everyone's prayers over the years."
On hearing the news, current US President George Bush said it was "a sad day for America".
Former British PM Margaret Thatcher hailed Reagan as "a truly great American hero".
"President Reagan was one of my closest political and dearest personal friends," she said.
"He will be missed not only by those who knew him and not only by the nation that he served so proudly and loved so deeply, but also by millions of men and women who live in freedom today because of the policies he pursued."
He is attributed with winning the Cold War.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Queen is saddened by the news."
The film star turned politician was American President between 1981 and 1989.
He was voted into office in a conservative revival that changed America's political and economic landscape for years.
He had two children with wife Nancy, whom he married in 1952, as well as an adopted son, Michael, and a daughter, Maureen, with first wife Jane Wyman, now deceased.
After announcing to the world in 1994 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the 40th US president said he had begun "the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life".
His body is expected to be taken to his presidential library and museum in Simi Valley, California, and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.
His funeral is expected to take place at the National Cathedral, an event likely to be attended by leaders from across the world.
Mr Reagan's body will then be returned to California for a sunset burial at his library.
