Berlusconi was hospitalised in Milan on April 5 with a lung infection stemming from the disease, said Dr. Alberto Zangrillo, his personal physician. He also suffered over the years from heart ailments, prostate cancer and was hospitalised for COVID-19 in 2020.
The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has died aged 86. He died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, according to Italian media. He had treatment in April for a lung infection connected to an unreported diagnosis of persistent leukaemia.
Until 2011, Berlusconi, a flamboyant billionaire media magnate, presided over four administrations. The billionaire businessman created Italy’s largest media company before transforming the political landscape – while fending off multiple legal and sex scandals. He had suffered several bouts of ill health in recent months.
He led the centre-right Forza Italia party which went into coalition under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after elections in September, when he was elected to Italy's upper house, the Senate.