Giorgio Napolitano has been elected to be the next Italian President.
An 80-year-old life senator from the Democrats of the Left, heir to Italy's former communist party, Mr Napolitano is a former lower house speaker and interior minister.
Mr Napolitano's candidacy was supported by Romano Prodi and the parties who backed his victorious election campaign last month.
He polled 543 of the 1,009 so-called 'Grand Electors', comprising members of both houses of parliament and representatives of the regions.
Three previous votes, in which a two-thirds majority was required to elect a president, had proved inconclusive when members of outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition refused to endorse former communist candidates.
From that point on, a simple majority was enough to elect a candidate.
Mr Napolitano is expected to be sworn in over the weekend, and to ask Mr Prodi early next week to form a government.
Mr Prodi's cabinet could be subject to a vote of confidence before the end of the week.
