Bob Dole, a former U.S. Senator from Kansas and presidential candidate who was considered one of the most prominent members of the Republican Party, died Sunday morning. He was 98.

"Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep. At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years," read a statement from Dole's family.

Dole served in World War II and became a second lieutenant in the Army's 10th Mountain Division. Fighting in the mountains of Bologna, Italy, Dole was seriously wounded by a German shell, which struck in his back and arm and also shattered his collarbone and part of his spine.

In the Senate, Dole was among the most powerful figures of the Republican Party in the 1990s. He was first elected to the Senate from Kansas in 1969. He served as either Senate Majority Leader or Senate Minority Leader from 1985 to 1996. He also served in the House, representing a large district that encompassed the western half of the state.

In 1996, Dole won the Republican nomination for president and was defeated in the general election by President Bill Clinton. It was Dole's second time on a losing presidential ticket after having run alongside President Gerald Ford in 1976.

In 1997, Clinton awarded Dole the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"Bob Dole was a man to be admired by Americans. He had an unerring sense of integrity and honor. May God bless him, and may our nation draw upon his legacy of decency, dignity, good humor, and patriotism for all time," President Joe Biden posted on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.

In February, Dole announced in a statement that he had Stage IV lung cancer and was receiving treatment.

His family did not disclose where he died.

Dole was born in the small town of Russell, Kansas. He married Phyllis Holden in 1948. The couple divorced in 1972. They have a daughter, Robin, who was born in 1954.

In 1975, Dole married Elizabeth Hanford, who later represented North Carolina in the Senate.

Dole graduated from Washburn University with an undergraduate and law degree.