BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The journalist Robert Novak died Tuesday, Aug. 18, after a battle with brain cancer aged 78.

Syndicated columnist Robert Novak talks to reporters as he departs a federal court house after testifying in the perjury trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, in Washington in this Feb. 12, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The veteran journalist, who was an U.S. newspaper columnist and a staunch conservative, made headlines in 2003 after exposing the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame. The revelations led to a criminal investigation into many senior Bush administration officials.

    For 45 years Novak was the author of what was during his lifetime the longest-running current syndicated column in U.S. political history.

    As well as writing his political column he also appeared on many shows for CNN, most notably on three former programs, The Capital Gag, Crossfire and Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields. Novak announced he had had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in August 2008 but despite a suggestion he might retire he continued to write.

    His journalistic career began while he was still at school where he wrote for the Joliet Herald-News. after leaving school he gained further journalism experience as a sports writer for the Daily Illini, a student newspaper at University of Illinois. Resigning that position he went on to work for the local community newspaper, The Champaign-Urbana Courier, where he continued as a sports writer. Novak then served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War reaching the rank of Lieutenant.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak speaks during a taping of "Meet the Press" at NBC Studios in Washington July 15, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Returning to journalism after the war, Novak joined the Associated Press and later the Wall street Journal. Both stints were short lived and he teamed up with Rowland Evans in 1963 to create the Evans-Novak Political Report, a six-times a week newspaper column. Syndicated by the Chicago Sun-Times, Novak continued writing it until earlier this year. On February 4, 2009, Novak announced in his newsletter, the Evans-Novak Political Report, that the biweekly newsletter would be coming to an end due to his illness. The newsletter, started four years after the column, had been published continuously since 1967.

    He leaves behind his wife of 47 years Geraldine, who was once a secretary for President Lyndon Johnson, a son Alexander and a daughter, Zelda Caldwell, who worked for Ronald Reagan's Presidential campaign and for Vice President Dan Quayle.

    In an interview in 2007, Novak predicted with regret the first line in his obituary. He lamented to PBS' Charlie Rose that his Plame column was "a very minor story compared to some of the big stories that I have had. But ... that's going to be in the lead of my obituary, and I can't help it."

    (Agencies)