Former three-term New York State Gov. Mario Cuomo died on New Year’s Day at age 82. Governor Cuomo was the first Italian-American elected New York governor and was known as a forceful defender of liberalism. His family confirmed the death, which occurred only hours after Cuomo’s son Andrew M. Cuomo was inaugurated in Manhattan for a second term as governor. The cause was heart failure.

Mario Cuomo led New York from 1983 through 1994. Click here for a New York Times article on the life and legacy of Gov. Mario Cuomo.