Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looks on during a speech from the stage in downtown Rome, Italy, November 27, 2013. Photo by Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi
Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a billionaire businessman who created Italy’s largest media company before transforming the political landscape, has died on Monday, according to sources.
Berlusconi, who was 86, had been suffering from leukemia “for some time” and had recently developed a lung infection.
Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition, and although he himself did not have a role in government, his death is likely to destabilize Italian politics in the coming months.
