Long-time NSW premier Neville Wran has died after a long battle with dementia. He was 87 years old.
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His wife Jill Hickson said in a statement that Mr Wran died just before 6pm on Sunday.
Ms Hickson said she was with him when he died.
Mr Wran suffered from dementia and had been under special care for the past two years.
''This is of course a very sad time for us all, but in fact a blessed release for Neville,'' Ms Hickson said.
''Dementia is a cruel fate and I have been grieving the loss that comes with it for some years. But I hope now, especially in this political climate, people will join me in celebrating the life of a great man, a true political hero.''
She paid special tribute to the nursing staff of Lulworth House, who had been caring for the former premier.
''They really are angels,'' she said.
Mr Wran led the Labor government in NSW from May 1976 to July 1986.
He was a successful lawyer before entering parliament in the Legislative Council in 1970. He moved to the lower house in 1973 and became Labor leader.
In 1976, he led Labor to government in a tight election, forming government after a 10-day wait, with the support of an independent.
On July 4, 1986, Mr Wran announced his resignation to a shocked Labor conference.
Only fellow Labor premier Bob Carr surpassed his record for the longest continuous service as NSW premier.
Mr Wran and his government were involved in damaging corruption scandals. In 1983, he stepped aside while a royal commission examined allegations he'd tried to influence a magistrate over a misappropriation hearing against rugby league boss Kevin Humphreys. He was cleared.
Prisons Minister Rex Jackson was jailed for selling early releases and Chief Magistrate Murray Farquhar was jailed for perverting the course of justice. Senior police were also caught up in the scandals.
Mr Wran himself was fined $25,000 for contempt of court after declaring his belief in the innocence of his old friend Lionel Murphy, the High Court judge facing a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
After politics, Mr Wran had success in the business world, including running a merchant bank with Malcolm Turnbull, now Communications Minister in Tony Abbott's cabinet.
Mr Wran was married twice. First to Marcia Oliver, whose son he adopted before they had two more children, and then to Ms Hickson, with whom he had two children.
NSW Premier Mike Baird said he was "deeply saddened" to learn of Mr Wran's passing.
"In the 1970s and 1980s, Mr Wran was a towering figure in the NSW Labor Party and in the state. His legacy is positive and lasting, Mr Baird said.
Mr Baird paid tribute to Wran's achievements in infrastructure include electrification of several regional rail services and the establishment of the Darling Harbour precinct.
"He was instrumental in the creation of our National Parks and in the preservation of the natural and built environment," Mr Baird said.
"Many features of democracy in NSW, such as four-year terms, public funding and disclosure laws, and a democratically elected Legislative Council, bear his imprint."
Tributes have started to flow on social media.
