Charles Krauthammer was prominent conservative voice

Charles Krauthammer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and pundit who helped shape and occasionally dissented from the conservative movement as he evolved from “Great Society” Democrat to Iraq War cheerleader to denouncer of Donald Trump, died Thursday at age 68.

His death was announced by his longtime employers The Washington Post and Fox News.

Krauthammer had announced a year ago he was being treated for a cancerous tumour in his abdomen and earlier this month revealed he likely had just weeks to live.

“I leave this life with no regrets,” Krauthammer wrote in the Post, where his column had run since 1984.

“It was a wonderful life — full and complete with the great loves and great endeavours that make it worth living. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.”

Sometimes scornful, sometimes reflective, he was awarded a Pulitzer in 1987 for “his witty and insightful” commentary and was an influential voice among Republicans, whether through his syndicated column or his appearances on Fox News Channel.

Krauthammer is credited with coining the term “The Reagan Doctrine” for president Ronald Reagan’s policy of aiding anti-communist movements worldwide.

He was a leading advocate for the Iraq War and a prominent critic of president Barack Obama, whom he praised for his “first-class intellect and first-class temperament” and denounced for having a “highly suspect” character.