Four-time Italian Prime Minister, founder of Forza Italia and media tycoon, Silvio Berlusconi, died on Monday in a Milan hospital at the age of 86.
Berlusconi had been in hospital since Friday evening for further tests related to chronic leukaemia – a disease from which he had been suffering for some time and showed no sign of improving.
On Monday, his situation deteriorated dramatically with his death occurring sometime around 09:30. In recent years, Berlusconi had suffered various health problems and in April 2023 had been in intensive care suffering breathing problems.
The controversial Italian business magnate and politician undoubtedly left an indelible mark on Italian politics and media.
Sex scandals, corruption and fraud
After building an extensive private media empire, Berlusconi launched his political career on the back of the 1993 Tangentopoli corruption scandal in Italy, winning his first election the following year.
Berlusconi led four Italian governments between 1994 and 2011, with his party Forza Italia now in coalition with the far-right Brothers of Italy since the 2022 elections.
Berlusconi was currently serving as a senator, and was an MEP in the European Parliament up until the 2022 elections, after relaunching his political career in 2017 following numerous legal issues that had him sidelined from mainstream politics.
His career was marred by sex scandals, allegations of corruption and a tax fraud conviction.
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In 2013, Berlusconi was found guilty of paying for sex with an underage sex worker and of abusing his office, although the conviction was later quashed in 2018.
His outspoken style makes him one of the forefathers of populism, having gone into power in 1994 without having held any prior government or administrative offices. When leading Italy, Berlusconi garnered a reputation for making gaffes and insensitive remarks on the international stage.
Having led the country for a total of nine years, he is the longest-serving leader in post-war Italy and the third-longest after Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Giolitti.
