Former New York Governor dies at 82

Mario Cuomo, a former Governor of New York has died at the age of 82, his family said.

Cuomo, a three-time governor of the state and father of the current governor, Andrew Cuomo, passed away on Thursday, January 1, at his home in Manhattan just hours after his son was sworn in for a second term.

The former governor, who ruled from 1983 to 1994, was a gifted orator and a renowned liberal democrat who had twice turned down the opportunity to contest for the US Presidency.

Cuomo’s death was announced by the governor's office in a statement which said that he had died of “natural causes due to heart failure this evening at home with his loving family at his side.”

His son, Chris Cuomo, of CNN's "New Day," also confirmed his father’s death to the network at about 5pm on Thursday.

President Barack Obama paid tribute to the former governor in a statement in which he said that Cuomo was “an unflinching voice for tolerance, inclusiveness, fairness, dignity and opportunity.”

Mario Cuomo is survived by his wife, Matilda, two sons, Andrew and Chris, and three daughters, Margaret, Maria and Madeline. Maria is married to designer, Kenneth Cole.