On June 12, 2023, Silvio Berlusconi, who had been as Italy’s Prime Minister three times, passed away at the age of 86.
A lung infection that was connected to leukemia forced the senior politician and wealthy media entrepreneur to spend six weeks in the San Raffaele hospital in Milan earlier this year. He was treated there for his condition.
In recent years, he has struggled with a number of different health issues, including being admitted to the hospital with covid in the year 2020, undergoing major heart surgery in the year 2016, and beating prostate cancer in the year 1997.
Berlusconi was the head of the center-right Forza Italia party, which is currently a member of Italy’s right-wing coalition government together with the Fratelli d’Italia party, which is led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the Lega, which is led by Matteo Salvini. Berlusconi served as leader of Forza Italia for a number of years.
Berlusconi served as the head of government on four separate occasions: from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011, when he reluctantly resigned after the Italian parliament approved austerity measures desired by the EU.
After the war, he served as Italy’s Prime Minister for a total of nine years, making him the third most long-serving Premier in Italy’s post-war history.
Berlusconi was suffering from chronic leukemia.
In October of last year, Berlusconi made a political comeback after years of scandals and convictions for corruption, fraud, and juvenile sex accusations. He returned as a senator nine years after being ousted from elected office following a conviction for tax fraud. The reason for his expulsion was a tax fraud conviction.
In February, he was found not guilty in a high-profile case in which he was accused of paying witnesses to lie about his notorious “Bunga Bunga” parties, and more recently, he created controversy with his criticism of Ukraine president Volodymir Zelensky.
Berlusconi was born in Milan in 1936 and received his law degree from the University of Milan. Prior to entering politics in 1994, he was successful in the media and real estate industries through his enterprises Mediaset and Fininvest.
Berlusconi, also known as Il Cavaliere (The Knight), was the owner of the AC Milan football team from 1986 until 2017, then in 2018, he purchased the Monza football club, which competes in the third level.
Berlusconi went through two divorces and was a father to five grown children. Since the year 2020, he had been involved in a relationship with Marta Fascina, who was 54 years his junior.
