ROME: Former Italian Prime Minister and businessman-turned-politician, Silvio Berlusconi, passed away in Milan at the age of 86, reported Al Jazeera.
The right-wing leader, who was born on September 29, 1936, in Milan, was elected as the Prime Minister of Italy four times and transformed Italian politics. His dominance over the electoral process had an impact on the opinions of an entire generation of Italians.
The former Italian Prime Minister was also known for his money and sex scandals apart from being a bigwig in Italian politics.
Berlusconi, who is frequently compared to former US President Donald Trump, built his early wealth in real estate and construction before gradually diversifying, most notably into the mass media, according to Al Jazeera.
He created a media empire between the late 1970s and the early 1980s. It featured a publishing company and Mediaset, a well-known cable TV network that was seen as Italy’s largest rival to state-owned television.
He prevented the well-known AC Milan football team from going bankrupt by purchasing it in 1986. It was not until 1994, however, that ‘the Knight’, Berlusconi’s popular nickname, entered Italian politics.
In the same year that Forza Italia (Go Italy), a new right-wing party, was founded, a new era in Italian politics began, and Berlusconi won his first election as Prime Minister, reported Al Jazeera.
He won elections again in 2001 and 2008, thanks to new voters drawn to his economic growth pledges. He stayed in office until the end of 2011, when he stepped down following a highly publicised sex scandal. (ANI)