Mario Monti nominated to form Italian government: official

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Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Sunday nominated ex-European commissioner Mario Monti to form a new government, a day after Silvio Berlusconi quit after dominating politics for nearly two decades.

"Senator Mario Monti was given the task of forming the government," a spokesman for the president told reporters.

The 68-year-old economics professor and dean of the prestigious Bocconi University in Milan earned a fearless reputation as the top trust-busting bureaucrat in Brussels, but until now has never held political office.