Former President George W. Bush said that former Vice President Dick Cheney’s death was “a loss to the nation” and said that Cheney was “the one I needed” when he became his running mate in 2000.

“Laura and I will remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honorable man that he was,” Bush said in a statement obtained by Fox News. Cheney’s death was announced Tuesday morning.

“History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation — a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence and seriousness of purpose to every position he held,” Bush’s statement reads, in part.

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Cheney served as Bush’s vice president from 2001 to 2009, spanning the 9/11 attacks and helping shape U.S. policy in the “war on terror,” including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as a Republican congressman, Defense secretary and White House chief of staff in his decades-long public career.

“As a young White House aide and chief of staff, a congressman, a secretary of defense and my vice president, Dick earned the confidence and high opinion of five presidents,” the statement continues.

“I asked him to join my ticket in 2000 after first enlisting him to help me find the best running mate. In our long discussions about the qualities a vice president should have — deep experience, mature judgment, character and loyalty — I realized that Dick Cheney was the one I needed.”

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“I’m still grateful that he was at my side for the eight years that followed.”

Cheney was also elected vice president in 2004 with Bush and flourished as one of Bush’s inner circle of advisers on defense and foreign policy. Bush said Cheney’s steadiness and judgment proved invaluable once they entered office together.

“Dick was a calm and steady presence in the White House amid great national challenges. I counted on him for his honest, forthright counsel and he never failed to give his best,” the statement reads. 

“He held to his convictions and prioritized the freedom and security of the American people. For those two terms in office, and throughout his remarkable career, Dick Cheney’s service always reflected credit on the country he loved.”

Bush said Cheney’s love for America was second only to that of the former vice president’s family. 

“Laura and I have shared our deepest sympathies with Vice President Cheney’s wife, Lynne, and their daughters and granddaughters of whom he was so deeply proud. We are praying for Lynne, Liz, Mary and the Cheney family as they honor a great man.”