The son of US Vice President Joe Biden, Beau Biden, has passed away after a protracted battle with cancer.

Beau Biden was the oldest son of the current vice president, and was a successful politician himself, having served two terms as the attorney general of Delaware.

He died Saturday night, his father revealed in a statement.

“The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.

More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother. His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father’s saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did.”

He was diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2013, and has had a number of surgeries battling the condition. He had plans for a run as governor, now eternally curtailed.

The news has drawn tributes from a plethora of big wigs in the US political landscape. Beau was survived by his wife Haillie, and two children Natalie and Hunter.