SAO PAULO, July 3 (UPI) -- Former Brazilian President Itamar Franco has died from complications of leukemia in Sao Paulo, Brazil, government officials said. He was 81.
Franco died Saturday in the intensive care unit of the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo after contracting pneumonia following chemotherapy, Agencia Brasil reported.
Franco was president of Brazil from late 1992 until Dec. 31, 1994. He had been in the hospital since May 21.
"It was with sadness that I received the news of the death of senator and former President Itamar Franco," Brazilian President Dilma Vana Rousseff said from Brasilia. "He was leader of the country at a crucial time in our recent history. President Itamar leaves us a copy of honorable public career. In this time of sorrow, I convey my feelings to his family and friends."
Franco served as a senator for Brazil's Socialist People's Party until his death, CNN reported. He became president after a corruption scandal forced the resignation of his predecessor, Fernando Collor de Mello.
Franco was vice president of his party and served as governor of Minas Gerais. He also served as mayor of Juiz de For a, Agencia Brasil said.
