Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi passed away on Monday at the age of 86, his former television network reported.
“Berlusconi is dead,” Mediaset’s homepage declared on Monday. The media magnate, industrialist, and iconic Italian politician who was involved in multiple high-profile scandals is survived by five children.
Friday marked the second occasion in as many months that Berlusconi was hospitalized for treatment of chronic leukemia.
Berlusconi was the prime minister of Italy for a total of nine years and four administrations. He was the Italian leader with the longest tenure since the nation became a republic in 1946. After founding the center-right Forza Italia party in 1994 and promptly gaining a relative majority, Berlusconi began his meteoric political rise.
He was elected Italy’s prime minister in 1994 but was compelled to resign in December of that year due to fraud and corruption investigations that resulted in convictions, which were later overturned.
Berlusconi maintained his position as leader of Forza Italia over the ensuing years and was re-elected prime minister in 2001 after a successful campaign to restore his party’s leadership.
Following the decline in the popularity of Forza Italia, Berlusconi formed a new government in 2005 but was unsuccessful in his campaign for re-election in 2006.
In 2008, under the leadership of a new party, Popolo della Libertà, he reclaimed the position of prime minister. He held the position for three tumultuous years, during which his popularity rose and fell dramatically.
He resigned after enacting promised budget reforms in 2011. In 2013, Italy’s highest court upheld Berlusconi’s conviction for tax evasion but reduced his sentence to one year; it was the first conviction against Berlusconi that was held.
In November of the same year, Berlusconi was expelled from the Italian Senate and banned from public office for six years.
As soon as the prohibition expired in 2019, Berlusconi successfully ran for a seat representing Italy in the European Parliament, which he held until his passing.
The renowned Italian politician continues to be a controversial figure in his native country and abroad.
Berlusconi was embroiled in a sex scandal involving so-called “bunga bunga” sex parties at his villa around 2010. He was accused of having sexual relations with a minor prostitute and using his political power to stifle allegations.
The Italian statesman denied all charges and asserted that political adversaries were framing him. The putative minor also denied having sexual relations with Berlusconi.
The years-long scandal ended in 2023 when he was declared not guilty in the final trial of the affair, which involved allegations of witness tampering in earlier court proceedings.
Berlusconi has confronted poor health for years, enduring a compromised heart and overcoming prostate cancer in the past.
In 2020, Berlusconi contracted a life-threatening COVID-19 infection. He was hospitalized for ten days and told the media that it was one of the most perilous health problems he had ever encountered.
During a multi-day sojourn to San Raffele last month, the former premier received a physical from his personal physician.
On March 31, he returned home and thanked those who had extended their support.
