Italian former president Francesco Cossiga, who died Tuesday aged 82, will be remembered as much for his brilliance as for the quick temper that took over by the end of his long political career. Cossiga was prime minister briefly in 1979, then elected president - a largely ceremonial post - in 1985.
He performed the role quietly for five years before launching a juggernaut for reform, slamming political machinations in such harsh terms that he earned the nickname "Il Picconatore" (The Pickaxe-Wielder). Cossiga, advocating a presidential regime, stepped down in April 1992.