Long-serving former congressman, war hero, and civil rights campaigner Charlie Rangel has died aged 94.

Rangel served 46 years in the House of Representatives for New York from 1971 until his retirement in 2017, winning election 23 times.

His cause of death was not immediately announced.

The Democrat was the second longest-serving incumbent member of the House at the time of his retirement, and the 10th-longest ever.

Rangel, nicknamed the ‘Lion of Lenox Avenue’, was the last surviving of the ‘Gang of Four’ black politicians who dominated Harlem politics for decades.

The others were former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, State Senator Basil Paterson, and Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton.

Rangel was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and the first black chair of the influential House Ways and Means Committee.

‘A towering figure in American politics and a champion for justice, equity, and opportunity, Congressman Rangel dedicated over four decades of his life to public service,’ his family said.

‘Throughout his career, Congressman Rangel fought tirelessly for affordable housing, urban revitalization, fair tax policies, and equal opportunities for all Americans.’ 

Charles Bernard Rangel was born on in Harlem on June 11, 1930, to an African-American mother and Puerto Rican father, the second of three siblings.

He was primarily raised by his mother after his abusive, unemployed father left when he was just six years old.

Dropping out of high school during his junior year, he enlisted in the US Army in 1948 and fought in the Korean War as an artillery operations specialist.

He was part of the all-black 503rd Field Artillery Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Division before the armed forces were fully racially integrated.

By late November 1950, he was fighting in the disastrous Battle of Kunu-ri as part of a United Nations force deep in North Korea.

The 2nd Division was surrounded by the Chinese in what he later called a ‘waking nightmare, scene by scene, and we couldn’t see any possible way out of the situation’.

Rangel, despite being wounded in the back by shrapnel from a Chinese shell, led 40 men as they fought through enemy lines out of the the encirclement and hiked over a mountain to safety.

He was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, returning to battle after recovering from his wounds and making it home in July 1951.

After he was honorably discharged in 1952, he finished high school and used the GI Bill to attend New York University, and get a law degree from St John’s.

‘When I was exposed to a different life, even if that life was just the army, I knew damn well I couldn’t get back to the same life I had left,’ he later said.

Rangel worked as a lawyer and met Alma Carter, a social worker, on the dance floor of the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. They married in 1964 and had two children.

He marched for four days in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches the next year, and in 1966 was elected to the New York State Assembly.

Just five years later, he was elected to the House with 88 per cent of the vote and quickly rose through the ranks of the Democratic Party.

Rangel combined liberal views with a pragmatic approach and willingness to compromise that made him an effective driver of legislation.

City College of NY called Rangel ‘the most effective lawmaker in Congress, leading all of his colleagues in passing legislation’ as it announced his death on Monday.

‘He was the primary sponsor of President Obama’s historic health care reform law. Recognized as one of the hardest working legislators in Congress, he sponsored 40 bills and resolutions that became law throughout his tenure,’ it said.

He was passionate about the drug problem plaguing his district and helped define national policy on narcotics in the 1980s.

The blunt and outspoken politician was also arrested at several protests, and a strong opponent of the Iraq War in 2003.

But he was not without controversy, most notably being found guilty by the House of 11 ethic rules and censured in 2010.

Rangel was found to have improperly rented four rent-stabilized New York apartments, and failed to declare $75,000 rental income from a villa in the Dominican Republic on his taxes.

The four apartments, combined together into one residence. were rented at well-below market rate – $3,894 for all of them combined when similar units went for more than $8,000 – and one was used as a campaign office in violation of House rules.

He also improperly used his position to raise $12 million for the Rangel Center at the City College of New York.

He used a congressional letterhead to solicit donations from companies and wealthy people, including Donald Trump, who had business interests before the Ways and Means Committee, which he chaired.

Rangel was forced to step down as Ways and Means chairman, but survived the scandal to win election three more times before his retirement. 

He was replaced by Adriano Espaillat, the first Hispanic congressman in Harlem, showing the changing demographics in the neighborhood. 

‘Charlie was an inspiration and embodied the truest form of leadership in public service, steadied in his faith and faithfulness in the American people, and a giant unmatched in his leadership, compassion, and commitment to upholding the values of our nation. I will miss him dearly,’ Espaillat said on Monday.

Former New York Governor David Paterson, son of Gang of Four member Basil Patterson, led tributes to Rangel.

‘We lost one of the greats today. Charlie Rangel’s commitment to public service was legendary. I grew up listening to him, my father, Percy Sutton and David Dinkins establish plans and follow them through to completion to enrich Harlem and our great state,’ Paterson said. 

‘These were lessons from the fabled ‘Gang of Four’ I took to heart and tried to adhere to throughout my own career in public service. 

‘Congressman Rangel’s family are in our thoughts and prayers today. We are all better for his service and I am better for having had his friendship.’

NYC Mayor Eric Adams added: ‘We lost a great hero that served in the Korean war, Congressman Charles Rangel, he was a true American and a true committer about what is great about this country.’

Reverend Al Sharpton called Rangel a ‘lion of Harlem’ and a true activist alongside him during the civil rights movement.

‘We’ve marched together, been arrested together and painted crack houses together,’ he said.

‘After surviving the horrors of the Korean War, he made every day of his life count – whether it was coming home to get a law degree or becoming a fixture on the House of Representatives.

‘Black excellence in Harlem, in New York, and in the United States survived because of the work Charlie and his cohorts did to keep it alive.’