Italian former Foreign Minister Frattini dies at 65

ROME (Reuters – Franco Frattini died Saturday at the age 65. He was twice appointed as Italy’s Foreign Minister and also held several other cabinet positions, Italian media reported.

Frattini was an ill man who had been suffering from cancer for some time. He died in a Rome hospital.

He was the foreign minister of governments led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 2002 to 2004 and 2008-2011, and he also held two other cabinet posts under Berlusconi’s and Lamberto Dini’s governments in the 1990s.

He was European Commissioner for Justice from 2004 to 2008. At the time of his death, he was President of Italy’s Council of State. This is a consultative body that oversees the public administration.

He was a Socialist Party member when he started his political career. Later, he joined Berlusconi’s centre-right parties.

(Reporting and Editing by Philip Pullella; Editing By William Mallard