The Communist Party's former propaganda chief died of an unspecified illness in Beijing yesterday morning at the age of 83, according to state media reports.
Ding Guangen was lauded by authorities as 'an excellent party member and a long-tested, loyal communist, as well as a prominent leader for the CPC's publicity and cause of ideology', according to an English report by Xinhua.
Well known for pairing up with the party's former paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, in their games of bridge, the poker-faced Ding (pictured) was generally regarded as an ideologically conservative official, largely for his tight control over the media during his decade-long rule of the party's Central Publicity Department from 1992.
It was reported that while then-premier Zhu Rongji paid a visit to CCTV in 1998 and stressed the importance of the media's supervisory role in reporting on the government, Ding refused to budge on his long-standing position of closely guiding public opinion.
A Jiangsu native, Ding had a chequered political career before retiring as the country's top propaganda official in 2002.
After serving in the nation's railway system for about 30 years, in 1985 Ding was named Railways Minister. However, in 1988 there was a serious train crash that killed 88 people and left more than 200 injured and he was forced to resign.