Brazil's ex-president Itamar Franco dies at 81

Brazilian ex-president Itamar Franco, who was in office briefly from 1992 to 1994 and helped steer the country to stability in the wake of major scandal, died Saturday after battling leukemia, hospital officials said. Franco died at Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo at age 81. He arrived in power unexpectedly due to the impeachment of president Fernando Collor de Mello following a string of corruption scandals. The Franco government served as an institutional "bridge" to the next presidential elections, won by Fernando Henrique Cardoso who served as Franco's finance minister. Franco also is remembered for his Plan Real, an economic stabilization program credited with ending Brazil's runaway inflation. He maintained an active role in Brazilian politics after his presidency, and at the time of his death was serving as a senator from Minas Gerais state.