BRASIL: Ex-Prez. Itamar Franco...Dead At 81.

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Former president Itamar Franco (above right)...suddenly thrust into the office in 1992... credited with conquering hyperinflation...has died of leukemia at age 81. 

Franco was VP when then-President Fernando Collor de Mello, facing impeachment on corruption charges, resigned...with annual inflation running...at more than 1,000%!

Franco selected future president Fernando Henrique Cardoso as finance minister, replaced  the cruzeiro as currency under the Plano Real, reduced spending...and planted the seeds for Brasil's phenomenal growth.
His replacement currency...the real...recently touched its strongest level since Jan. 1999... 1.5534 vs the usd.