Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian former Prime Minister (PM) who overcame various scandals to hold office four times, has died at 86.
He died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan. In April, he was treated for a lung infection linked to leukaemia.
Berlusconi’s death leaves a “huge void”, Italy’s defence minister said, with a national day of mourning due to take place on Wednesday.
The longest-serving prime minister in post-war Italy, he had bounced back from sex scandals and corruption cases.
After taking political office in 1994, the billionaire media tycoon led four governments until 2011 – though not consecutively.
Last September, Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia party went into coalition under right-wing Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
Reacting to the news, Ms Meloni remembered her predecessor as a “fighter”. In a video message, she said he remained “one of the most influential men in the history of Italy”.
Her deputy, Matteo Salvini, said he was “broken” and thanked Berlusconi for his “friendship”, “advice” and “generosity”.
Defence Minister, Guido Crosetto, said: “An era is over… Farewell Silvio.” His death left a “huge void”, Mr Crosetto added in a tweet.
The Italian government has declared a national day of mourning on Wednesday; the same day Berlusconi’s funeral is scheduled to take place at Milan Cathedral.
“All Italian and European flags on public buildings will be lowered to half-mast from Monday nationwide,” a spokesman told the media.
Another figure to pay tribute was Vladimir Putin, who called Berlusconi a “true friend”. In a statement, the Russian President said he had always admired Berlusconi’s “wisdom” and “ability to make balanced, far-sighted decisions”.
The former Italian leader had been suffering from a rare form of blood cancer, chronic myelomonocyte leukaemia, doctors at San Raffaele revealed in April.
He had repeated health problems after contracting COVID-19 in 2020. So far, there has been no official confirmation of the precise cause of death.
Born in 1936 in Milan, Berlusconi began his career selling vacuum cleaners, before setting up a construction company.
He went on to become one of Italy’s richest men, building a business empire that included television networks, publishing companies and advertising agencies. —BBC
