Italian President Giorgio Napolitano Announces Retirement Wednesday Jan 14,2015

 

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has announced his retirement in a resignation letter on Wednesday Jan 14,2015 which leaves Prime Minister Matteo Renzi with the difficult task of finding a successor

Italian Parliament's lower house will name the date for the election of his successor by 1,009 parliamentarians and regional representatives.
The process must start within 15 days.
The voting requires a two-thirds majority within the first three rounds. If that produces no winner, only a simple majority is required in the fourth round.

Giorgio Napolitano announced last month that poor health meant that he would leave office ahead of the 2020 expiry of his term. In 2013 he reluctantly agreed to serve a second term to help play a role in resolving parliamentary elections which were deadlocked

Giorgio Napolitano was first elected to parliament in 1953 and became president in 2006.

Giorgio Napolitano was a well-known member of the Democratic Left, the rebranded name for the Cold War-era Communists