Umberto II of Italy to serve the new republic. The monarchy of the House of Savoy formally ended on 12 June 1946, and Umberto left the country. Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi assumed office as Italy's interim Head of State. Umberto and Marie José separated in exile; it had been an arranged marriage of state, following a long tradition of royal families. However, they never divorced, partly for political reasons. Some academics have explored Umberto's possible homosexuality. As early as the 1920s, Mussolini had collected a dossier on his private life for purposes of blackmail. Certainly during the war, newspapers asserted that Umberto was
Parties in the European Council between May and December 2004 council, in accordance with the system of Qualified Majority Voting. – Transitional QMV system with 124 total votes and a qualified majority of 88 (70.97%), in use until 1 November 2004. <br> – Final EU-25 QMV system with 321 total votes and a qualified majority of 232 (72.27%). DIKO's MEP joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group in the European Parliament, but the party is not formally attached to any pan-European organization. Parties in the European Council between May and December 2004 On the 1 May 2004 ten new member states joined the European Union. This article