Italian President Giorgio Napolitano resigned on Wednesday after almost nine years at the helm of the country and before the natural end of his second tenure.
Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano (second from left) delivers a speech in parliament in Rome, Italy, April 22, 2013 (Xinhua)
A letter of resignation signed by the 89-year-old president was taken by his secretary general to the heads of the two chambers of parliament and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi for a formal view.
Senate speaker Pietro Grasso, the second executive of state, will take the temporary presidency. Within 15 days, Laura Boldrini, the head of the Chamber of Deputies, or lower chamber, will have to convene the parliament which will vote for a new president.
Napolitano, who will serve as a senator for life after his resignation, had made it clear several times that he would not complete his second seven-year term, explaining that he could not underestimate the signs of fatigue of his age.
(Source: Xinhua)
