Longtime United States senator, former Democratic leader Harry Reid dies at 82

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Harry Reid, a former United States Democratic Senate leader who spearheaded epic legislative battles through three decades in Congress, has died at the age of 82, CNN reported citing a statement from his wife Landra Reid.

"I am heartbroken to announce the passing of my husband, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He died peacefully this afternoon, surrounded by our family, following a courageous, four-year battle with pancreatic cancer," she said in a statement Tuesday.

Reid rose from humble beginnings in Searchlight, Nevada, to become the most powerful politician in Nevada history, capping off his political career as the Democratic leader in the Senate, including eight years in the majority.

United States President Joe Biden, who served with Reid in the Senate, called him one of "the all-time great Senate Majority Leaders in our history" in a statement Tuesday.

"He was my leader, my mentor, one of my dearest friends," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in astatementTuesday evening. "He's gone but he will walk by the sides of many of us in the Senate every single day."

Former United States President Barack Obama released a letter he had written to Reid before his death in lieu of a statement. "I wouldn't have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support, and I wouldn't have got most of what I got done without your skill and determination," Obama wrote.