Joe Lieberman, senator and first Jewish VP nominee, dies at 82

Former US senator Joe Lieberman, the first Jewish nominee for vice presidency for a major party, has died at the age of 82, according to a statement issued by his family.

Lieberman was in New York City on Wednesday where he was undergoing treatment for complications related to a fall at his Bronx home.

He was pronounced dead on Wednesday, the hospital and his family confirmed.

His funeral will be held on Friday at Congregation Agudath Sholom in his hometown of Stamford. He is survived by his wife and four children.

“Senator Lieberman’s love of God, his family, and America endured throughout his life of service in the public interest,” Lieberman’s family said in a statement, confirming his death.

Lieberman served as many as 10 years in the Connecticut State Senate and was a majority leader for three terms.

He almost won the closely contested 2000 election where he was chosen as the Democratic running mate by the then-presidential nominee, Al Gore. However, a recount and a Supreme Court decision later moved the needle in the favour of George Bush.

Mr Gore said he was “profoundly saddened” to learn of Lieberman’s passing.

“It was an honour to stand side-by-side with him on the campaign trail,” Mr Gore said in a statement. “I’ll remain forever grateful for his tireless efforts to build a better future for America.”

Lieberman viewed himself as a centrist Democrat and supported abortion rights, environmental protections, gay rights, and gun control.

However, the Democrat-turned-independent was never shy about veering away from the party line.

“In an era of political carbon copies, Joe Lieberman was a singularity. One of one,” said Connecticut senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat.

“He fought and won for what he believed was right and for the state he adored.” Lieberman sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 but dropped out after a weak showing in the early primaries.

Four years later, he was an independent who was nearly chosen to be Republican John McCain’s running mate, in a surprising twist.

However, Mr McCain later chose Sarah Palin after outrage from conservatives over Lieberman‘s liberal record, according to Steve Schmidt, who managed his campaign.

Lieberman was known in the Senate for his sharp foreign policy views, his pro-defence bent and his strong support for environmental causes.

Five weeks after the 11 September 2001 attacks, he became one of the first politicians to call for a military invasion of Iraq. He grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, where his father ran a liquor store. He graduated from Yale University and became Connecticut’s attorney general from 1983 to 1988, later vaulting into the Senate by defeating moderate Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker in 1988.

After leaving the Senate in 2013, he joined a New York City law firm.