Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has died aged 86.
The controversial leader has been suffering from Leukemia for some time. He has been undergoing treatment for a lung infection to a chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia.
The BBC, quoting an Italian media, said that he died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan.
“Berlusconi was one of Italy’s most flamboyant politicians, making a political comeback in 2017 despite a career tainted by sex scandals, countless allegations of corruption and a tax fraud conviction,” reports The Guardian.
Nicknamed Il Cavaliere (the knight), Berlusconi was often considered the “kingmaker” in Italian politics, the report said.
Berlusconi, who faced sex scandals, was convicted of tax fraud in late 2012, for which he served his year-long sentence doing part-time community service at a residential home in Milan. His ban on running for office was lifted in time for the general elections in 2018 when Forza Italia ran in coalition with the League and Brothers of Italy but fell short of the 40% required to govern, the report added.
The billionaire media tycoon first came to office in 1994 and led four governments until 2011.