History of the Italian Republic the first time. The 1994 elections also swept media magnate Silvio Berlusconi (leader of "Pole of Freedoms" coalition, which included Forza Italia, the regionalist far-right "Lega Nord" party and the far-right "Alleanza Nazionale"), into office as Prime Minister. Berlusconi, however, was forced to step down in December 1994 when the "Lega Nord" withdrew support. The Berlusconi government was succeeded by a technical government headed by Lamberto Dini, which left office in early 1996. A series of center-left coalitions dominated Italy's political landscape between 1996 and 2001, which introduced a number of progressive reforms in areas such as social security. In
Death and funeral of Helmut Kohl Death and funeral of Helmut Kohl Helmut Kohl, the former Chancellor of Germany, died at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, 16 June 2017 in the Oggersheim district of Ludwigshafen, his home town, aged 87. Kohl is widely regarded as the "father of the German reunification" and as a principal architect of the Maastricht Treaty which established the European Union (EU) and the euro currency, and became the second person to be named an Honorary Citizen of Europe in 1998. Following his death, he was lauded by world leaders as "the greatest European leader of the second half of the 20th century"