George W Bush has approved the death sentence of an army soldier convicted of murder and rape, becoming the first US president to approve a military execution in 51 years.

Ronald A. Gray, 42, a former army cook, has been on death row since he was convicted by a court martial panel in 1988. In the US, a military court requires the President's signature of approval in order to approve a death sentence.

Mr Bush granted the army's formal request that he approve the sentence by signing an order from the Oval Office yesterday, according to a White House spokesperson.

"President Bush this morning accepted the recommendation of the Secretary of the Army to approve a sentence of death for army private Ronald A. Gray, affirming the sentence that resulted from a general court martial for multiple charges of murder and rape committed while serving as a member of the armed services," Dana Perino said in a statement.

Private Gray had already been sentenced to eight life terms in a separate civilian case after he admitted raping and killing the two women in North Carolina.

In the court-martial, the soldier was convicted of raping and killing Kimberly Anne Ruggles, 24, a civilian cab driver, in January 1987, and Laura Lee Vickery Clay, an Army private, in December 1986. Both women were from Fayetteville next to the Fort Bragg barracks where Gray was based.

Miss Ruggles bled to death after being stabbed seven times. Miss Clay was shot four times with a .22-caliber pistol that Gray confessed to stealing.

He also was convicted of raping and attempting to kill Private Mary Ann Nameth, 20, who was stabbed three times in the neck in January 1987, in a Fort Bragg barracks. She testified against Gray during the court-martial and identified him as her assailant.

Miss Perino added: "While approving a sentence of death for a member of our armed services is a serious and difficult decision for a commander-in-chief, the president believes the facts of this case leave no doubt that the sentence is just and warranted,"

She said the White House anticipated further appeals in the case.

The last US president to approve a military execution was president Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957. That prisoner was put to death in 1961.

The most recent president to act on a military request for approval of a death sentence was John F. Kennedy, who in 1962 commuted a death sentence to life imprisonment.

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