Six hours after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was sworn for his second term of office, his father - Mario Cuomo - who occupied the same post, died on Thursday at the age of 82.

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The current governor was originally scheduled to have the swear-in ceremony in Albany, but he moved it at the last minute so he could be near his father on New Year's Eve, reports Newsday.

The former governor has confined in a hospital in late 2014 because of his heart condition, but he was described to be in good spirits by his spokesman and "doing very well" by his other son, Chris Cuomo of CNN.

He died of natural causes at his home, surrounded by family members.

Cuomo became New York State governor in 1983 and served for three terms, ending in 1994. He also has three daughters - Maria, Margaret and Madeline.

He was born in 1932 in Queens, New York to Italian parents who migrated to the U.S. after they were married in 1925. Andrea, his father, was born in Brooklyn, but Andrea's parents returned to Nocera Superiori in Italy after Andrea was born.

A Democrat, Cuomo twice thought of running for the presidency in 1988 and 1992, but he balked which paved the way for the election of then Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, who was a lesser-known candidate.

When Clinton won, he offered Cuomo a slot in the Supreme Court in 1993, but the third-term governor then declined.

He was last seen in November 2014 when he raised Andrew's hand to celebrate the latter's win in the election. Since the former governor wasn't feeling well, he skipped the Thursday speech of his son Andrew on Thursday.

In his speech, the second-term governor described his father, quoted by Miami Herald, saying, "He is in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He is here and he is here and is inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what had brought this state to this point."

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