NEW YORK:  US President Donald Trump’s younger brother Robert Trump, died Saturday night at the age of 71 after being hospitalized in New York, the president said in a statement. He was a businessman known for an even keel that seemed almost incompatible with the family name.

The president visited his brother at a New York City hospital on Friday after White House officials said he had become seriously ill.

It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight,” Donald Trump said in a statement. “He was not just my brother, he was my best friend.

He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace.”

The youngest of the Trump siblings remained close to the 74-year-old president and, as recently as June, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Trump family that unsuccessfully sought to stop publication of a tell-all book by the president’s niece, Mary.

Robert Trump had reportedly been hospitalized in the intensive care unit for several days that same month.

(With inputs from VOA)