Former NY Gov. Mario Cuomo dies at 82

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Cuomo

Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo pictured in 2012.
Image: Louis Lanzano/Associated Press

Mario Cuomo, the former governor of New York and father of current Gov. Andrew Cuomo, died Thursday of natural causes due to heart failure, his family announced in a statement. He was 82.

Cuomo, known for his oratory skills, served as governor for three terms from 1983 to 1994. The democrat was the 52nd governor of New York. He also served as lieutenant governor and secretary of state of New York prior to his terms as governor.

His 1984 Democratic National Convention speech in San Francisco got him national attention after he slammed President Ronald Reagan, characterizing him as out of touch with poor Americans.

Party leaders unsuccessfully urged Cuomo to run for president twice.

He died, with his family at his side, just hours after his son was sworn into his second term in office on New Year’s Day.

Andrew Cuomo, Mario Cuomo, Election

Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo kisses his father, Mario Cuomo, as he celebrates after defeating Republican challenger Rob Astorino, at Democratic election headquarters in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.

Image: Kathy Willens/Associated Press

“He’s not well enough to come,” his son told a crowd of dignitaries at One World Trade Center, according to The New York Daily News. “He couldn’t be here physically today but my father is in this room.”

Condolences—from politicians to supporters to journalists— began to flow in after news of the former governor’s death broke.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki, his successor, described him as a “great New Yorker” of “soaring intellect” and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called him “a giant.”

To President Barack Obama, Cuomo was a determined champion of progressive values, and an unflinching voice for tolerance, inclusiveness, fairness, dignity, and opportunity.

“His own story taught him that as Americans, we are bound together as one people, and our country’s success rests on the success of all of us, not just a fortunate few,” Obama said in a statement.

He was survived by his wife of 60 years, Matilda Raffa Cuomo, his five children and 14 grandchildren.

Watch Mario Cuomo speak at the 1984 DNC

UPDATED 6:30 p.m. PT: to include family’s statement
UPDATED 8:30 p.m. PT: to include Obama’s statement

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Read more: http://mashable.com/2015/01/01/mario-cuomo-dies-82/

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