Former US Senator Joe Lieberman dies at age 82: media reports

A family statement said the four-term senator and vice presidential candidate died from complications after a fall.

Joe Lieberman, Al Gore’s running mate during the hotly contested 2000 presidential election, has died at age 82 after suffering complications from a fall.

United States media announced his death on Tuesday afternoon, citing a family statement.

One of the few high-profile independents in the US political sphere, Lieberman largely caucused with the Democrat Party during his four terms as a senator, representing the state of Connecticut.

But he identified as a centrist, and towards the end of his career, he embraced the No Labels movement, an organisation that shirks the traditional two-party system in favour of “common ground”.

Lieberman, however, was part of the Democratic presidential ticket in 2000, when Gore — then-vice president under Bill Clinton — raced for the White House himself.

When Gore chose Lieberman as his vice presidential candidate, the senator became the first Jewish running mate to represent a major party in the general elections.

The decision also catapulted Lieberman into one of the most divisive presidential races in recent history. The Gore-Lieberman ticket won the popular vote — but it lost the crucial Electoral College, the metric the US uses to decide who wins the presidency.

Instead, Republican George W Bush emerged victorious in that race, after the US Supreme Court ruled to end a recount effort in the pivotal swing state of Florida. An estimated 537 votes separated Bush and Gore in the state.

Lieberman’s career in national politics, however, came to an end in 2006, when he lost the Democratic primary for the US Senate in Connecticut. At the time, he faced strong criticism for his hawkish approach to the US’s war in Iraq.

He has, however, continued to exercise influence as a political lobbyist, lawyer and advocate for groups like No Labels.

This is a developing story. More details to follow.