Giulio Andreotti, one of the most prominent political figures of post-war Italy, has died aged 94.
Mr Andreotti was Italian prime minister seven times between
1972 and 1992. He led the Christian Democrat party, which dominated
Italian politics for decades.He was dogged in later years by allegations of corruption and Mafia links.
He died at home in Rome. He was reported to have suffered heart and respiratory problems in recent years.
Rome's Mayor, Gianni Alemanno, called Mr Andreotti "the most representative politician" in recent Italian history.
But others saw him as an arch political manipulator.
Another former Prime Minister, Massimo D'Alema, said he was "a highly disputed figure... for his conception of power".
Mr Andreotti entered the Italian parliament in 1946 and remained there for more than 60 years, before seeing out his days as a senator-for-life.
He had a reputation for cunning. He managed to find and meet the Pope as an eight-year-old after sneaking away from a Vatican tour group.
He later became one of the founding fathers of the post-war Italian republic, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.
He was a junior minister at the age of 28, and went on to serve as either prime minister or a senior minister in the many frequently changing Christian Democratic coalitions that held power almost continuously between 1946 and 1992.