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Fiat chief Umberto Agnelli dead

May 28, 2004 11:43 IST

Fiat president Umberto Agnelli has died at the age of 69, the Italian news agency ANSA reported on Friday.

He died Thursday evening in his home near the northern Italian city of Turin, attended by his wife and children Andrea and Anna.

Umberto took over the reins at Fiat last year after the death in January of his brother Gianni Agnelli, the long-time head of the Agnelli family clan and flagship business Fiat.

Umberto Agnelli did not attend the Fiat general shareholders assembly on May 11. A spokesman at the time said he was ill, but did not say from what he was suffering.

According to the Financial Times he was suffering from cancer.

A company spokesperson declined to comment.

-- AFP