Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi passed away at the age of 86. According to reports, the politician, who died on Monday at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, was battling leukemia. Silvio Berlusconi was the longest-serving Italian prime minister since the Second World War and was known to have enjoyed a good relationship with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Following the news of the Italian politician’s death, Viktor Orbán reacted almost immediately on his Facebook page, where he said goodbye to his friend with a photo of them together, accompanied by the caption: “Rest in peace my friend. The great warrior has gone.” The Hungarian Prime Minister has repeatedly said that he had learned a lot from the former leader of the Italian right.
Hungarian President Katalin Novák also paid tribute to the Italian politician on her Twitter page, and so did many politicians around the world.
— Katalin Novák (@KatalinNovak_HU) June 12, 2023
Berlusconi entered politics at the age of 57 and became leader of the right-wing Forza Italia! party. His party won Italy’s parliamentary elections in 1994, just 60 days after it was founded.
He served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1994-1995, then from 2001-2006, and finally from 2008-2011.
In last year’s Italian general elections, his party, Forza Italia, was part of the center-right coalition along with Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Matteo Salvini’s Lega, and eventually this formation managed to win the elections.
Berlusconi was successful not only in politics but also in business, founding the Italian mass media company Mediaset and building a complete television empire, making him a media mogul. In 1978, he founded Fininvest holding, which later became the dominant player in the Italian commercial television and advertising market.
Berlusconi was also the owner and president of AC Milan from 1986, during which time the famous club became one of the most successful in football history, winning 29 trophies, including three Champions League titles (1994, 2003, 2007) and five European Super Cups (1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007).
After the politician sold Milan in 2012, he bought Monza in 2018, a club in the lower division, which he promoted to the Italian top flight for the 2021-2022 season.
With a net worth of US$6.8 billion as of June 2023, Berlusconi was the third-wealthiest person in Italy.
Featured photo via Facebook/István Simicskó