Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi died at the age of 86 on Monday, the 12th of June, his representative announced.
Berlusconi was diagnosed with leukemia in April.
Berlusconi was the leader of the Italian conservative party Forza Italia, and a member of the senate.
For years, Berlusconi had various health problems, starting from heart surgery in 2016 and ending with the coronavirus in 2020. He was admitted to a hospital in Milan on Friday for scheduled tests related to leukemia.
Despite his re-election to the Senate last year,
he rarely appeared in public, but remained the party’s official leader.
Berlusconi held the position of prime minister three times between 1994 and 2011, spending a total of nine years as head of government. But his influence was much wider than politics, because he owned the largest commercial television channels, and until 2017 he was the owner of the football club AC Milan. Berlusconi’s bright lifestyle name often made the front pages of newspapers, even in recent years.
The ex-premier has been accused of abusing his position,
promoting prostitution of minors and corruption, and has been embroiled in other scandals.
He will be mourned by his 33-year-old girlfriend, two ex-wives and five children, several of whom helped Berlusconi run his business, which is worth around seven billion euros.
Detailed information about Berlusconi’s funeral are not yet available, but he has built a marble mausoleum in his villa near Milan with the idea that his family and friends will be buried there after his death.