2023-09-22 20:21:42
MADRID, 22 (EUROPA PRESS)
The former president of Italy Giorgio Napolitano died this Friday afternoon at the age of 98 at the Salvator Mundi hospital, located in Rome and where he had been admitted for some time after complications in his health.
Napolitano served as president of Italy between 2006 and 2015, becoming the oldest head of state, as he was around 90 years old when he left office, and the first to win re-election, although he barely served two years of his second. mandate, reports time.news.
After winning the April 2013 presidential election over Stefano Rodotà with an overwhelming 73 percent of the votes, Napolitano announced on December 31, 2014, during his usual end-of-year speech, his resignation due to health reasons.
Before serving as head of state, he had already served as head of the Ministry of the Interior between 1996 and 1998 during the Government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Previously, between 1992 and 1994 he served as president of the Chamber of Deputies, the Italian Lower House.
REACTIONS FROM ITALY
One of the first to come forward with the news was the current Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, who has stated that the country is “grateful” for the work that Napolitano did. “Much of the history of the second half of the 20th century is reflected in the life of Giorgio Napolitano,” he said.
In a statement released by the Quirinal Palace, Mattarella highlighted Napolitano’s anti-fascist convictions, his support for the Italian communist movement, as well as his “commitment to the development of southern Italy and the lower social classes” and his “convinced Europeanism”.
“He played the role of guarantor of the values of our community with fidelity to the Constitution and keen intelligence, with heartfelt attention to the requests for renewal present in society,” said the Italian head of state, who transferred the family of Napolitano “the condolences of the entire nation.”
For her part, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has limited herself to launching a statement on the official website of the Head of Government in which she “expresses her condolences” for the death of Napolitano. “Our thoughts and our deepest condolences go to the family,” the letter adds.
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