Charles Krauthammer dead: Columnist and Fox News contributor dies of cancer, aged 68

Renowned conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer has died at the age of 68, after a prolonged battle with cancer.

The Pulitzer Prize winner and Fox News contributor announced earlier this month that he had only weeks left to live.

In an essay for the Washington Post, he explained that he had undergone surgery to remove a cancerous tumour last August, and had been battling the complications ever since. Tests this month revealed that the cancer had returned, and was spreading rapidly, he said.

“My doctors tell me their best estimate is that I have only a few weeks left to live,” he wrote on 8 June. ”This is the final verdict. My fight is over.”

Bret Baier, the chief political anchor at Fox News, mourned his passing on Thursday, tweeting: “R.I.P. good friend. I am sure you will be owning the panel discussion in heaven as well.”

“And we’ll make sure your wise words and thoughts – your legacy – will live on here,” he added.

Mr Krauthammer became a commentator for Fox News after writing political essays for publications like Time and the New Republic. He wrote regular editorials for the Washington Post starting in 1985, and served as a panellist on PBS’ ”Inside Washington” for more than 20 years. He was awarded back-to-back Pulitzer prizes for commentary in 1986 and 1987.

The commentator spent much of his life in a wheelchair, after a diving accident at age 22 left him paralysed from the waist down. Shortly thereafter, he graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed a medical residency before turning to journalism.

“I’ve never had a better colleague than Charles Krauthammer – a role model, a mentor and a friend,” tweeted Stephen Hayes, the editor in chief of the Weekly Standard.

“Brilliant, thoughtful, gracious, generous and hilarious. I’m grateful beyond words for the time I had with him. RIP, Charles.”