US SENATOR John McCain has died at the age of 81 from brain cancer, after a political career which spanned several decades, a statement from the former politician’s family has confirmed.
The legendary Senator was famous for being a Vietnam war veteran, a Presidential candidate in 2008 and an outspoken critic of Donald Trump.
His death at 4.28pm on August 25 came after a fight with brain cancer for more than a year.
Just days before his death it was announced he had decided to stop treatment for the cancer.
John Sidney McCain III was born on 29 Aug 1936 into a family of servicemen.
He himself later enrolled in United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and served his country as a fighter pilot in the Vietnam war.
During his service he was captured by North Vietnamese troops and held as a prisoner of war after the plane he was flying was shot down on October 26 1967.
He spent time in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton†camp, where he was tortured and left with two broken arms, a broken leg, broken shoulder and numerous stabbing wounds.
He was released after fie and a half years.
George Bush beat John Mccain in the Republican primaries in 1999.
In 1981 he decided to retire from the military and run for Congress in a seat in Phoenix, Arizona.
Winning the election, he represented Arizona in the Senate and House of Representatives for 35 years, right up until his death.
In 1999 Mr McCain announced he was running for the Republican nomination for President but was defeated by George W Bush.
Unwilling to give up on his dream of becoming President, he again announced his intentions to seek the Republican nomination in 2007.
After gambling on political neophyte Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, McCain lost in 2008 to Democrat Barack Obama, who became the first black US President.
Senator McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was a frequent critic of his fellow Republican, Donald Trump, who was elected president in November 2016.
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