Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian prime minister and media tycoon, dies at 86

THE former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has died aged 86.

The three-time Italian prime minister died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, where he previously spent 6 weeks due to a pulmonary infection. He had been diagnosed with leukemia for quite some time.

The media tycoon, who led three governments between 1994 and 2011, addressed Italian people via a video message filmed in a hospital room in May.

Berlusconi was a senator and president of the far-right party, Forza Italia – a junior partner in Italy’s current ruling coalition. Despite juridical issues linked to sex scandals and allegations of fraud, he made a comeback in 2017.

An avid football fan, Berlusconi was the president of AC Milan for 31 years, and was also the owner of the football club Monza.