Alessandro Natta; Former Leader of Italian Communists

Alessandro Natta, an Italian Communist leader who bitterly and unsuccessfully opposed changing the party’s name with the collapse of Soviet-style communism, died Wednesday. He was 83.

Natta, who had suffered heart and severe respiratory problems for years, died at his home in Imperia in northern Italy.

Born there in 1918, he became an anti-fascist and was deported to Germany, where he continued resistance efforts before returning to his homeland.

He was first elected to Parliament in 1948 and worked his way up through the Communist Party until clinching the top post, that of secretary, in 1984, after the death of Enrico Berlinguer, who had declared the party’s independence from Moscow.

Natta resigned as leader in 1988, two months after a heart attack, as the Communists were trying to halt an erosion of support at the polls.

Succeeding him was Achille Occhetto, who would go on, two years later, to oversee the changing of the party’s name to the Democratic Party of the Left.

Natta is survived by his wife, Adele, and daughter, Antonella. A private funeral was planned.