Amintore Fanfani

Amintore Fanfani, a six-time Italian premier and a former head of the U.N. General Assembly, died Saturday at his home here. He was 91. Fanfani had returned home Saturday morning after a month's hospitalization for treatment of heart and breathing problems brought on by the flu. Tributes came quickly from Italian leaders, all echoing the phrase used by the president of Italy's Chamber of Deputies, Luciano Violante: "It is the end of a grand personality in the history of the republic."

Amintore Fanfani, a six-time Italian premier and a former head of the U.N. General Assembly, died Saturday at his home here. He was 91. Fanfani had returned home Saturday morning after a month's hospitalization for treatment of heart and breathing problems brought on by the flu. Tributes came quickly from Italian leaders, all echoing the phrase used by the president of Italy's Chamber of Deputies, Luciano Violante: "It is the end of a grand personality in the history of the republic."

Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani resigned as head of a 12-week-old caretaker government, clearing the way for an attempt to form a new government based on the outcome of June's national elections. President Francesco Cossiga's office said that he will consult with representatives of all parties over the weekend. He is expected to name a candidate to try to form the next government--Italy's 47th since World War II--on Monday.

Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani resigned as head of a 12-week-old caretaker government, clearing the way for an attempt to form a new government based on the outcome of June's national elections. President Francesco Cossiga's office said that he will consult with representatives of all parties over the weekend. He is expected to name a candidate to try to form the next government--Italy's 47th since World War II--on Monday.

Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani announced the makeup of his Cabinet Friday night, while former Socialist Prime Minister Bettino Craxi issued a stinging attack on the new minority government. Fanfani, a Christian Democrat who has headed five previous governments, presented a list of 25 ministers to President Francesco Cossiga. The government, Italy's 46th since the end of World War II, is to be sworn in today and presented before Parliament on Monday for a confidence vote.

U.S. and Italian law enforcement officials agreed Thursday to study the relationship of arms trafficking to organized crime, drug smuggling and terrorism. The agreement came at a meeting in Rome between Italian Interior Minister Amintore Fanfani and Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III, the Justice Department announced.

President Francesco Cossiga dissolved Italy's Parliament tonight and called a June election following the defeat of the country's 10-day old minority government in a parliamentary confidence vote. Official sources said the Cabinet of Christian Democrat Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani was expected to meet tonight to set the date for the balloting, which was almost certain to be June 14. If that date becomes impossible, they said, the election will be held June 21.

Some 7,000 people crowded into the Vatican on Saturday night to hear a rare performance by the reclusive Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. The charity concert, in the hall where Pope John Paul II holds weekly audiences, was Michelangeli's first performance in the Vatican since 1977. The 67-year-old pianist has played in Italy only once since 1968 when he went to live in Switzerland after a private recording company in which he was a partner went bankrupt.

The first five winners of a new Japanese-sponsored arts prize called the Praemium Imperiale will be announced today in New York, recognizing lifetime achievement in architecture, music, painting, sculpture and theater/film.

The first winners of the Praemium Imperiale, a new international prize for lifetime contribution to the arts and intended to compare to the Nobel Prize in purpose and scope, will be announced at a Sept. 15 luncheon in New York. The Japan Art Assn., sponsor of the prize, said Monday that prizes of $100,000 each will be awarded in five fields: architecture, music, theater and film, painting and sculpture, areas not represented by the Nobel Prize.

Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani announced the makeup of his Cabinet Friday night, while former Socialist Prime Minister Bettino Craxi issued a stinging attack on the new minority government. Fanfani, a Christian Democrat who has headed five previous governments, presented a list of 25 ministers to President Francesco Cossiga. The government, Italy's 46th since the end of World War II, is to be sworn in today and presented before Parliament on Monday for a confidence vote.