Italy’s former premier Berlusconi dies at 86

Milan, June 12

Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul and former Italian Prime Minister who transformed the nation’s politics with polarising policies and often alarmed his allies with his brazen remarks, died on Monday aged 86.

Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-serving premier who counted Russian President Vladimir Putin as a friend and gained notoriety for his “bunga bunga” sex parties, had suffered from leukaemia and recently developed a lung infection.

He died at Milan’s San Raffaele hospital. Four of his five children and his brother Paolo were at his bedside before his death was announced.

A state funeral will be held in Milan on Wednesday.

Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is now a junior partner in PM Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition, and although he himself did not have a role in government, his death may bring fresh realignments in Italian politics. Reuters

Three-time PM

• Berlusconi served as Italy’s PM for three terms
• The centre-right leader had a law degree, sung in nightclubs and on cruise ships
• Later, he started a construction company, built apartments for middle-class families