Oscar Luigi Scalfaro | Ex-Italian president, 93
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, 93, a past president of Italy who held the post during the sweeping corruption scandal of the early 1990s that reshaped the country's postwar political landscape, died Sunday in Rome.
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, 93, a past president of Italy who held the post during the sweeping corruption scandal of the early 1990s that reshaped the country's postwar political landscape, died Sunday in Rome.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano paid tribute to his predecessor as "a protagonist in the democratic political life" and an example of "moral integrity."
"As president of the republic, he firmly and steadfastly confronted one of the most difficult periods of our history," Napolitano said in a statement.
Pope Benedict XVI remembered Scalfaro as "a distinguished" Catholic man of state, who "helped to promote the common good and the perennial ethical and religious values."
Scalfaro was a key figure in postwar Italian politics, helping to write the constitution and to found the former Christian Democrats. He held numerous prominent government posts before becoming Italy's ninth postwar president, a position that is largely ceremonial but carries the significant role of moral compass for the country.
As president from 1992 to 1999, Scalfaro was often called upon to resolve Italy's recurrent political crises, either choosing a new premier or calling early elections. He once called Italy's volatile political situation "pathological." - AP