Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dies at 86 of prolonged leukaemia

Milan: Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has passed away at the age of 86, as confirmed by Italy's leading news agency, Ansa. The media mogul, who served as prime minister three times from 1994 to 2011 and led the Forza Italia party, had been battling leukaemia for an extended period.

Berlusconi's political career was marked by scandal, corruption allegations, and a tax fraud conviction. Despite these controversies, he made a political comeback in 2017 and became a junior partner in the current ruling coalition. His death occurred at Milan's San Raffaele hospital, where he had recently undergone treatment for a lung infection linked to his chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia.

Born in Milan in 1936, Berlusconi started his business journey in property development and went on to establish Mediaset, Italy's largest commercial broadcaster. Additionally, he owned the AC Milan football club from 1986 to 2017.

Berlusconi's political party, Forza Italia, was founded in 1993. In 2001, he became the first prime minister to be elected without prior government experience. His second term, lasting from 2001 to 2006, became the longest served by an Italian leader since World War II. He returned to power in 2008 but resigned in 2011 due to a severe debt crisis.

In 2012, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud and served his sentence through part-time community service. His ban on running for office was lifted in 2018, and his party formed a coalition with the League and Brothers of Italy, falling short of the necessary percentage to govern. Berlusconi won a seat in the European Parliament in 2019 and, in the 2022 general elections, his party returned to power in a coalition led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy.

Known as "Il Cavaliere" (the knight), Berlusconi played a significant role as a kingmaker in Italian politics. Throughout his life, he faced health challenges, including surgery to replace an aortic valve in 2016 and hospitalization due to COVID-19 in September 2020.

Berlusconi was married twice and had relationships with Francesca Pascale, 37, and Marta Fascina, 33, an MP from Forza Italia, with whom he had a "symbolic marriage" in March 2022. He is survived by his five children.