WASHINGTON, August 31. /TASS/. Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and only president of the Soviet Union, was one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century who will be missed, Dan Quayle, who served as US vice president under George H.W. Bush (1989-1993), said on Tuesday.

"Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the most influential leaders in the 20th century. His philosophy of glasnost to perestroika paved the way for lifting the Iron Curtain and ending the Cold War. His statesmanship, leadership, and concern for humanity will be greatly missed," the George & Barbara Bush Foundation quoted Quayle as saying on its Twitter page.

The foundation itself also expressed its condolences on Gorbachev's death. "President Bush often said that President Gorbachev 'stuck his neck out at a critical time in history to guarantee world peace'," the foundation said.

Mikhail Gorbachev, who led the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, died on Tuesday in Moscow at the age of 91.