BEIJING — Former Premier Li Keqiang, China’s top economic official for a decade, died Friday of a heart attack. He was 68.

Li was China’s No. 2 leader from 2013-23 and an advocate for private business but was left with little authority after President Xi Jinping made himself the most powerful Chinese leader in decades and tightened control over the economy and society.

CCTV said Li had been resting in Shanghai recently and had a heart attack on Thursday. He died at 12:10 a.m. Friday.

Li, an English-speaking economist, was considered a contender to succeed then-Communist Party leader Hu Jintao in 2013 but was passed over in favor of Xi. Reversing the Hu era’s consensus-oriented leadership, Xi centralized powers in his own hands, leaving Li and others on the party’s ruling seven-member Standing Committee with little influence.

As the top economic official, Li promised to improve conditions for entrepreneurs who generate jobs and wealth. But the ruling party under Xi increased the dominance of state industry and tightened control over tech and other industries. Foreign companies said they felt unwelcome after Xi and other leaders called for economic self-reliance, expanded an anti-spying law and raided offices of consulting firms.

Li was dropped from the Standing Committee at a party congress in October 2022 despite being two years below the informal retirement age of 70.

The same day, Xi awarded himself a third five-year term as party leader, discarding a tradition under which his predecessors stepped down after 10 years. Xi filled the top party ranks with loyalists, ending the era of consensus leadership and possibly making himself leader for life. The No. 2 slot was filled by Li Qiang, the party secretary for Shanghai, who lacked Li Keqiang’s national-level experience and later told reporters that his job was to do whatever Xi decided.

Li Keqiang, a former vice premier, took office in 2013 as the ruling party faced growing warnings the construction and export booms that propelled the previous decade’s double-digit growth were running out of steam.

Government advisers argued Beijing had to promote growth based on domestic consumption and service industries. That would require opening more state-dominated industries and forcing state banks to lend more to entrepreneurs.

Li’s predecessor, Wen Jiabao, apologized at a March 2012 news conference for not moving fast enough.

In a 2010 speech, Li acknowledged challenges including too much reliance on investment to drive economic growth, weak consumer spending and a wealth gap between prosperous eastern cities and the poor countryside, home to 800 million people.

Li was seen as a possible candidate to revive then-supreme leader Deng Xiaoping’s market-oriented reforms of the 1980s that started China’s boom. But he was known for an easygoing style, not the hard-driving impatience of Zhu Rongji, the premier in 1998-2003 who ignited the construction and export booms by forcing painful reforms that cut millions of jobs from state industry.

Li was believed to have supported the “China 2030” report released by the World Bank and a Cabinet research body in 2012 that called for dramatic changes to reduce the dominance of state industry and rely more on market forces.

The Unirule Institute, an independent think tank in Beijing, said state industry was so inefficient that its return on equity — a broad measure of profitability — was negative 6%. Unirule later was shut down by Xi as part of a campaign to tighten control over information.

In his first annual policy address, Li in 2014 was praised for promising to pursue market-oriented reform, cut government waste, clean up air pollution and root out pervasive corruption that was undermining public faith in the ruling party.

Xi took away Li’s decision-making powers on economic matters by appointing himself to head a party commission overseeing reform.

Xi’s government pursued the anti-graft drive, imprisoning hundreds of officials including former Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang. But party leaders were ambivalent about the economy. They failed to follow through on a promised list of dozens of market-oriented changes. They increased the dominance of state-owned banks and energy and other companies.

Xi’s government opened some industries including electric car manufacturing to private and foreign competition. But it built up state-owned “national champions” and encouraged Chinese companies to use domestic suppliers instead of imports.

Borrowing by companies, households and local governments increased, pushing up debt that economists warned already was dangerously high.

Beijing finally tightened controls in 2020 on debt in real estate, one of China’s biggest industries. That triggered a collapse in economic growth, which fell to 3% in 2022, the second-lowest in three decades.

Li showed his political skills but little zeal for reform as governor and later party secretary of populous Henan province in central China in 1998-2004.

Li earned the nickname “Three Fires Li” and a reputation for bad luck after three fatal fires struck Henan while he was there. A Christmas Day blaze at a nightclub in 2000 killed 309 people. Other officials were punished but Li emerged unscathed.

Meanwhile, provincial leaders were trying to suppress information about the spread of AIDS by a blood-buying industry in Henan.

Li’s reputation for bad luck held as China suffered a series of deadly disasters during his term.

Days after he took office, a landslide on March 29, 2013, killed at least 66 miners at a gold mine in Tibet and left 17 others missing and presumed dead.

In the eastern port of Tianjin, a warehouse holding chemicals exploded Aug. 12, 2015, killing at least 116 people.

A China Eastern Airlines jetliner plunged into the ground on March 22, 2022, killing all 132 people aboard. Authorities have yet to announce a possible cause.

Li oversaw China’s response to COVID-19, the first cases of which were detected in the central city of Wuhan. Then-unprecedented controls were imposed, shutting down most international travel for three years and access to major cities for weeks at a time.

In one of his last major official acts, Li led a Cabinet meeting that announced Nov. 11, 2022, that anti-virus controls would be relaxed to reduce disruption after the economy shrank by 2.6% in the second quarter of the year. Two weeks later, the government announced most travel and business restrictions would end the following month.

Li was born July 1, 1955, in the eastern province of Anhui and by 1976 was ruling party secretary of a commune there.

Studying law at Peking University, he was the campus secretary of the ruling party’s Communist Youth League, an organization that launched the political careers of former party leaders Hu Jintao and Hu Yaobang. He was a member of the League’s Standing Committee, a sign he was seen as future leadership material.

After serving in a series of party posts, Li received his Ph.D. in economics in 1994 from Peking University.

Following Henan, Li served as party secretary for Liaoning province in the northeast as part of a rotation through provincial posts and at ministries in Beijing that was meant to prepare leaders. He joined the party Central Committee in 2007.

St. Paul Academy can still go back to back.

Rusheek Kolan and Rowan McLean scored in the first half and the defending Class A boys soccer champion beat Washington 2-1 in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday.

With the win at a wet Irondale High School, the third-seeded Spartans will face No. 2 seed Holy Family in a Nov. 1 semifinal. That match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at climate-controlled U.S. Bank Stadium.

“Our coach Max (Lipset) tells us that we kind of always have a chip on our shoulder, like people want a piece of us because we are the defending champions. But at the end of the day, I don’t think we feel that pressure and take every game as it goes,” said goalkeeper Cooper Olson, recently named Mr. Soccer in Class A.

Now 12-4-3, St. Paul Academy has won seven of eight.

A light rain falling, Awal Wako scored on a penalty kick for Washington 36 seconds into the second half to get within 2-1. The unseeded Eagles thought they had a penalty-kick opportunity in the first half, but an initial handball call in the box was overruled.

Their deficit cut to one, Olson immediately took charge.

“We kind of brought everyone together and I just said, ‘Make sure we stay together as a team. If we get one back, we get one back, let’s just play solid defensively, get this game over and get to The Bank,’ ” he said.

In the tournament for the second time in three years, Washington (8-9-3) came in with some recent firepower. The Eagles won six of their last seven, scoring 23 goals, including six once and five twice.

“The conditions made it a little tough. Being in the state tournament in the rain, it’s harder to make the connections. They defended well, they’re compact, kept their shape,” said coach Micah Merritt. “Close chances, but just not enough to get that breakthrough. … Still, I’m really proud of the effort.”

St. Paul Academy controlled much of the early action. McLean was stopped in close less than three minutes in, and Ezra Straub rang a shot off the crossbar about five minutes later.

“We were doing pretty well, then we kind of slowed down. But once we got our rhythm back it was easy to keep getting shots off,” McLean said. “We trust each other. If someone makes a mistake, you pass to them on the next play.”

Kolan put the Spartans on the board in the 23rd minute. A long shot from Orio Kim was not cleanly played by the Eagles goalkeeper, and Kolan was able to poke the ball in at the left post.

From near the top of the box, McLean scored in the 35th minute for a 2-0 lead.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ response to the war in Israel may have gone way beyond just flying medical supplies to the country and ferrying out Americans, including trying to aid the shipment of weapons and ammunition — though his administration provided few details.

The governor’s administration said on Thursday for the first time that Florida taxpayers picked up the bill to transport drones, body armor and helmets for first responders to Israel. In addition, the state also worked to “help get clearance on flights sending weapons and ammunition to Israel through private parties.”

“The weapons and ammunition, which were not purchased by the state, were transported separately,” Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said in a text message. He added that the Israeli authorities reached out to Florida “for assistance to clear federal bureaucratic hurdles associated with getting those items to Israel.”

Redfern also said that the helmets and body armor shipped on the cargo planes were not purchased by the state.

The new details to Florida’s Israel operations were first reported by CNN and the Associated Press on Thursday and drew an immediate rebuke from Democrats in the Sunshine State. But a White House official downplayed the reports when asked about it.

“I would certainly let the governor speak to what Florida’s doing,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in Washington, D.C., when asked about it. “It is not illegal for the governor of a state to offer a measure of foreign assistance to another country. There are laws and regulations which govern how the export process is handled and that’s all done through Commerce.”

The governor’s office has not provided information on what kind of weapons or ammunition were sent, more specifics on how the state helped, or who are the private parties involved.

There also appeared initially to be conflicting accounts about how the effort was put together.

Redfern, in a statement, said the cargo plane shipments were arranged in “consultation” with the Israel consul general in Miami. Redfern said the administration also worked with the consul general to get clearance on the flights transporting weapons and ammunition.

But Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, the consul general, initially told the Associated Press he did not request drones, body armor or helmets, nor had he talked to the governor about help getting weapons or ammunition through private parties. But Elbaz-Starinsky later told McClatchy that he had, in fact, spoken to the DeSantis administration and asked it and others to help get final approval for a private shipment of weapons parts during the first week of the war in the Middle East.

“They asked me to help. I approached a few contacts, including the governor’s office, to get the final approval,” he told McClatchy. “It went through all the process. I’m not even sure, at the end of the day, which one untangled this thing and made the shipment be approved.”

In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel, DeSantis, who has long touted his support of Israel, called for increased sanctions on Iran, which is aligned with groups opposed to Israel, and declared a state of emergency that allowed him to tap into a special state disaster fund without legislative approval to help pay for flights that have brought back roughly 700 Americans.

The moves come as DeSantis, who has been campaigning for president, has slammed the Biden administration — as well as former President Donald Trump — over Israel. DeSantis hit Trump, his one-time political ally-turned chief rival for the GOP nomination, over the former president’s criticism of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But DeSantis this week also had a top Jewish Republican in Florida withdraw his endorsement of the governor after saying DeSantis had not done enough to counter antisemitism.

So far, the state has issued purchase orders for transportation worth up to $32 million for three different companies, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, including $19 million to a company that was previously hired to helped with DeSantis’ controversial migrant transport program.

The state paid ARS Worldwide for charters to transport Americans back from Israel as well as to fly cargo planes to the country.

On Tuesday, the DeSantis administration drew attention to the cargo planes and in a release saying they were carrying 85 pallets that included “medical supplies, clothing items, hygiene products and children’s toys.” Some of the medical supplies listed were hospital gowns, needles and syringes.

The release, which included a brief video showing the loading of the planes, said that Elbaz-Starinsky observed the loading and departure of the planes.

Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried, who is Jewish, slammed DeSantis for his assistance in trying to help get ammunition and weapons to Israel, saying Biden is the “commander-in-chief.”

“The Florida Democratic Party unequivocally supports Israel’s right to self-defense, and American military support for those efforts must come from the U.S. Government — not a handshake deal between a wannabe president and undefined ‘private parties,’” Fried said in a statement. “Instead of meddling with military operations to score political points for his failing presidential campaign, Ron needs to stand down and let President Biden do his job.”

WAKEFIELD — By earning a 7-0 Middlesex League win against Wakefield in the regular season finale on Thursday, make it 750 career wins and counting for longtime Watertown head coach Eileen Donahue.

Molly Driscoll’s hat trick in the first quarter kicked off a milestone-filled night for the Raiders (17-0), extending their win streak to 70 games and their national-record shutout streak to 37.

All seven goals came in the first nine minutes of play, but no highlight stood taller than Donahue reaching a win total just five other coaches in the country have before her. In 38 years of coaching, she is now 750-34-36 with 20 state titles.

Only former Nauset and Harwich/Monomoy head coach Cheryl Poore also has 700-plus wins in Massachusetts.

“I am proud of all the players that I coached, the coaches and the community for supporting us,” Donahue said. “We just had the superintendent come to our game for this moment. That really says a lot. It’s been a lot of hard work doing this, but you get kids to buy in all these years and have coaches support you – it’s a big thing. Just proud of everyone that played a role in this win, which is a lot of people.”

A corner led to Driscoll’s first goal, only 1:02 into the game. The Warriors (6-10-2) stacked the circle and cleared a couple of dangerous bids, but relentlessness helped Driscoll score twice more for her 13th hat trick of the year within the first five minutes.

It was only fitting she scored each of the first three goals in Donahue’s 750th win, having been on the team for all 70 wins over the last four years.

“Obviously we wanted to do this for Ms. Donahue and for the past teams, and obviously for us with all the work we’ve put in all season,” Driscoll said. “It definitely means a lot to not just be a part of it, but also to add to it. … I’m just glad to say that I could contribute.”

Rachel Egan chipped in a pair of goals, Adrianna Williams also scored, and Regan Driscoll added a goal and assist.

Egan’s second goal came with 6:39 left in the first quarter, leading to no more shots on net from Watertown as it played keep-away. Wakefield got the ball to the Watertown circle twice and drew one corner, though the Raiders prevented any shots to preserve a long shutout streak that dates back to the third regular season game of last year.

Breaking that national record for shutouts drew much more focus from the players than extending the win streak to 70 games. Attention is on winning every game they can: Milestones come as a result.

That mentality is sure to help Watertown in its bid to three-peat as the state tournament begins next week. But that doesn’t mean the Raiders won’t celebrate milestones and the team was sure to get flowers, a “750” balloon and cake to present to Donahue afterward.

Donahue is thankful for all the players to came through a program that also has the Massachusetts-record of 20 state titles, as well as national records for consecutive wins (124) and games unbeaten (184). She also thinks of her family, especially her late father Jack Donahue as her coaching influence.

“He would be just as proud because he’d be on the 50-yard-line, watching the games,” Donahue said. “He was with me from the beginning, he’s always going to be with me no matter what.”

Watertown coach Eileen Donahue celebrates her 750th win in field hockey against Wakefield on Thursday. (Staff Photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)