Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi Dies at 86

By Staff, Agencies

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi died at the age of 86. He had been admitted to San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Friday. There were no official reports on his health since then, but Corriere della Sera had claimed that his condition was “very serious.”

According to RAI broadcaster, the children of the Forza Italia party leader arrived at the hospital shortly before reports of his death emerged.

Berlusconi served as Italy’s prime minister in four governments between 1994 and 1995, 2001 and 2006, and from 2008 to 2011. This made him the country’s longest-serving premier since the dictator Benito Mussolini.

He was a prominent media tycoon, who founded the Mediaset television group, and owned AC Milan football club from 1986 until 2017.

Berlusconi was barred from holding public office in 2013 after being sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud. The ban was lifted in 2018, and he became a member of the European Parliament [MEP] a year later.

The veteran politician announced his electoral comeback in Italy last year, winning a Senate seat in September following the collapse of Mario Draghi’s government.

Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party claimed 45 seats in the snap election, running as part of a center-right coalition with the Brothers of Italy party of current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Lega Nord, and Us Moderates.

“An era is over,” Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said of Berlusconi’s passing. His death has left a “huge void,” he wrote in a tweet, adding that he “loved” the former prime minister “very much.”

The leader of the Lega Nord [Northern League] party Matteo Salvini said “a great Italian decided to say goodbye to us,” and asked for a minute’s silence to mark his passing.

Berlusconi, who had been diagnosed with leukemia, was previously hospitalized in April with breathing problems and spent 45 days there, battling a lung infection. Doctors described his cancer as “not acute.”