Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter died Thursday at his home in New Hampshire, the court said in a statement. He was 85 years old.

Souter, who was appointed to the high court in 1990 by by his fellow Republican, President George H.W. Bush, retired in 2009.

Souter, while serving on the court, often vexed Bush and other Republicans by aligning himself with liberal justices in decisions on cases.

And his retirement at a relatively young age allowed a new, Democratic president, Barack Obama, to appoint a liberal justice to replace him: Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

After he retired, Souter for more than a decade regularly sat as a judge on the U.S Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which handles cases arising out of federal district courts in New Hampshire, as well as Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico.

“Justice David Souter served our Court with great distinction for nearly twenty years. He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement on Friday.