Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister of Italy, has passed away at the age of 86, News About Nigeria reports.
Berlusconi, who was also a media mogul, led the Italian government for three terms and his political party, Forza Italia, is currently a junior partner in the ruling coalition.
He had been battling leukemia for a considerable period.
Known for his flamboyant personality, Berlusconi made a comeback in politics in 2017 despite a controversial career marred by sex scandals, numerous corruption allegations, and a conviction for tax fraud.
He passed away at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, where he had been receiving treatment for a lung infection linked to his chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.
Earlier this spring, he had spent six weeks at the same hospital.
Born into a middle-class family in Milan in 1936, Berlusconi initially ventured into property development before establishing Mediaset, the largest commercial broadcaster in Italy.
Additionally, he owned AC Milan football club from 1986 to 2017. Forza Italia, his political party, was founded in 1993.
In 1994, he became the first prime minister to be elected without any prior government experience.
His second term, from 2001 to 2006, is the longest tenure held by an Italian leader since World War II.
Berlusconi returned to power in 2008 but resigned in 2011 during a severe debt crisis.
In late 2012, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud and served a one-year sentence, which included part-time community service at a residential home in Milan.
His ban on running for office was lifted just in time for the 2018 general elections, in which Forza Italia formed a coalition with the League and Brothers of Italy.
However, they fell short of the required 40% to govern.
In 2019, Berlusconi secured a seat in the European Parliament, and in the October 2022 general elections, his party joined a coalition led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, returning to power.
Berlusconi himself was elected as a senator. Throughout his political career, he was often regarded as the influential “kingmaker” in Italian politics.
In 2016, Berlusconi underwent surgery to replace a faulty aortic valve, and in September 2020, he was hospitalized with COVID-19.
He experienced lingering complications related to the virus, which he described as the most challenging period of his life.
Berlusconi had been married twice and had a seven-year relationship with Francesca Pascale before entering into a relationship with 33-year-old Marta Fascina, an MP with Forza Italia.
In March 2022, they had a “symbolic marriage.”
He is survived by five children.
