AP
Italy’s new Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has taken office and announced his new cabinet.
Mr Gentiloni, 62, succeeds Matteo Renzi, who resigned after losing a referendum eight days ago.
Pier Carlo Padoan remains economy minister and Angelino Alfano becomes foreign minister.
Mr Gentiloni is a loyalist from Mr Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD), and he is expected to largely follow the former administration’s programme.
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The new government was sworn in by President Sergio Mattarella on Monday evening.
Mr Gentiloni faces a banking crisis and a rise in popular support for anti-establishment and eurosceptic parties.
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Mr Renzi stepped down after Italians voted against his proposed constitutional reforms.
Opposition parties have ruled out joining a national unity government. The populist Five Star Movement says it will boycott a parliamentary approval vote, expected to take place this week, saying it would have no legitimacy.
Paolo Gentiloni
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EPA
Mr Gentiloni (left) and Matteo Renzi (right) are close allies
- Born to an aristocratic family, has the title Nobile
- Worked as a journalist on an environmental magazine
- Elected to parliament in 2001
- Communications minister from 2006-08
- Appointed foreign minister in 2014
