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Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, one of his nation’s most controversial and iconic leaders for a half-century — on and off the battlefield — died Saturday at the age of 85, of complications from a stroke eight years ago.

Sharon’s son, Gilad Sharon, announced his death Saturday afternoon outside the hospital where he was being treated. “He has gone. He went when he decided to go,” he said.

ANALYSIS: Sharon’s legacy in Israel a complex one

The death of Sharon, known by his nickname “Arik” to generations of Israelis, ends a tumultuous career that spanned the heights and depths of public life and Israeli history.

Sharon was a military leader who led Israeli troops against Arab armies in every war from independence in 1948 until his stroke 58 years later. He was defense minister in 1982, when Israel attacked Lebanon in an attempt to oust the Palestinian Liberation Organization and reduce Syria’s stranglehold over Lebanon. Sharon was forced to resign after Lebanese Christian militias sent into the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps to weed out the PLO murdered hundreds of Palestinian civilians.

MORE: 10 lesser-known facts about Sharon

A longtime passionate advocate of Israeli settlement of land he helped conquer from Jordan and Egypt, which Palestinians seek for a state,he forced Jewish settlers to leave Gaza in 2005, ending 38 years of military governance.

“Sharon combined brilliance and colossal failure” during his long and controversial career, said Edward Walker, U.S. ambassador to Israel from 1998 to 2000 and former president of the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank.

To Palestinians Sharon was not a hero, but a brutal operator who sought for years to destroy Palestinian Liberation Organization founder Yasser Arafat and eventually succeeded, said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO’s executive committee. Arafat died in 2004. The cause of death is disputed. His wife claims he was poisoned with radioactive polonium by Israel.

“To us he represents violence, militarism, preemptive moves, undermining the political process — and a long history of pain,” Ashrawi said.

Sharon had a first, small stroke in December 2005 and was put on blood thinners before experiencing a severe brain hemorrhageJan. 4, 2006.

After spending months in the Jerusalem hospital where he was initially treated, Sharon was transferred to the long-term care facility in Tel Hashomer, a suburb of Tel Aviv.