Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has died at the age of 86.
The media tycoon, who led three governments between 1994 and 2011 and whose Forza Italia party is the junior partner in Italy’s ruling coalition, had recently been diagnosed with leukemia.
Berlusconi was one of Italy’s most flamboyant politicians who made a comeback in 2017 despite sex scandals, corruption allegations and convictions for tax fraud.
He died at Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital, where he had spent six weeks that spring being treated for a lung infection linked to chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.
Born into a middle-class family in Milan in 1936, Berlusconi began his business career in property development before founding Italy’s largest commercial broadcaster Mediaset. He also owned AC Milan football club between 1986 and 2017.
Forza Italia was founded in 1993. A year later, Berlusconi was the first prime minister elected without having previously held public office. His second term in office between 2001 and 2006 was the longest by any Italian leader since World War II. He returned to power in 2008 but was forced to resign in 2011 due to a severe debt crisis.
Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in late 2012, for which he served a year-long sentence while doing part-time community service at a residential home in Milan. He was barred from running for office in the 2018 general election, when Forza Italia entered a coalition with the League and the Brothers of Italy but fell short of the 40 percent needed to govern.
In 2019, Berlusconi won a seat in the European Parliament, and in the October 2022 general election his party returned to power in a coalition led by the brothers of Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. Berlusconi was also elected senator.
Meloni said on Monday: “Silvio Berlusconi was above all a fighter. He was a man who was never afraid to stand up for his convictions, and it was precisely this courage and determination that made him one of Italy’s history. Made one of the most influential men.
The two recently clashed over the war in Ukraine, with Berlusconi announcing that Russian President Vladimir Putin had sent him bottles of vodka for his birthday. On Monday, the Russian embassy in Rome described Berlusconi as a great statesman and visionary, while Putin said he was a “dear person, a true friend”.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called Berlusconi “a great friend and a great Italian man”.
Nicknamed Il Cavaliere (The Knight), Berlusconi was often considered a “kingmaker” in Italian politics. In 2016, he underwent surgery to replace a faulty aortic valve, and was hospitalized with Covid in September 2020. He had prolonged complications from the virus, an experience he described as “the worst of my life”.
He married twice, and was in a relationship for seven years with Francesca Pascal, 37, before tying Marta Fassina, 33, a Forza Italia MP, with whom he had a “symbolic wedding” in March 2022. was Survived by five children.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Croceto described Berlusconi’s death as “a great, great pain”. “He leaves a huge void because he was so good. An era is ending, an era is ending. I loved him so much. Goodbye Silvio.”
His rivals also united in paying tribute. One of the first to react was former European Commission President Romano Prodi, perhaps Berlusconi’s bitterest political foe.
“We represented different and opposite worlds, but our antagonism never turned into feelings of hostility on a personal level, and the discussion remained in the realm of mutual respect,” Prodi said.
Ellie Schlein, secretary of the centre-left Democratic Party, expressed her party’s “deepest condolences”.
“Everything has divided us and divided us from its political point of view, but there remains human respect for a man who was a central figure in our country’s history,” he said. “Deepest condolences from the Democratic Party.”
Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called Berlusconi a history maker. “Many loved him, many hated him. Today everyone must admit that his influence on political life but also on economic, sports and television life was unparalleled.
The sports world also paid tribute. “I have lost my wonderful friend,” said former soccer coach Arrigo Sacchi, whose Milan team won the Champions League in consecutive years.
Berlusconi gave up ownership of AC Milan in 2017 and bought Monza football club, taking it from Italy’s second division to the top flight. A statement from Monza said: “Forever with us. A void that can never be filled. Thanks for everything, President.”
Berlusconi’s body will be moved to Villa San Martino, his home in Arcor, north of Milan, sources said. His funeral is likely to take place at Milan Cathedral.
