Former US VP candidate Geraldine Ferraro dead at 75

WASHINGTON—US political icon Geraldine Ferraro, the first female vice presidential candidate to run on a major political ticket, has died at age 75 after a long battle with cancer, her family said Saturday.

Ferraro made history when Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale pick her to be his running mate in the 1984, in an election that president Ronald Reagan, a Republican running for re-election, won in a landslide.

Ferraro “was widely known as a leader, a fighter for justice, and a tireless advocate for those without a voice,” her family said in a statement released to US media.

“Her courage and generosity of spirit throughout her life waging battles big and small, public and personal, will never be forgotten and will be sorely missed.”