Harry Reid, the ex-Senate majority leader, and Nevada’s longest serving member of Congress, died. He was 82.

Reid, who died Tuesday at the age of 62, was surrounded by his friends and “peacefully”, Landra Reid stated in a statement. Reid had been fighting pancreatic disease for four years.

She stated that Harry was a deeply loyal friend and a dedicated family man. We are grateful for the support we have received over the past years. He is especially thankful to the nurses and doctors who cared for him. We are grateful for their care.

She said that funeral arrangements will be made public in the coming days.

A former fighter boxer who became a lawyer was well-recognized as one of Congress’s most toughest dealmakers. He was a conservative Democrat in a increasingly polarized chamber and he vexed legislators of both parties with his brusque demeanour.

“I’d rather dance than to fight. But I do know how fight.”

Over a 34-year career in Washington, Reid thrived on behind-the-scenes wrangling and kept the Senate controlled by his party through two presidents — Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama — a crippling recession and the Republican takeover of the House after the 2010 elections.

In 2016, he retired after an accident that left him partially blind.

Reid, who was diagnosed with pancreatic Cancer in May 2018, revealed that he was receiving treatment.