MILAN, (Reuters) – 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 yesterday aged 86.
Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-serving premier who counted Russian President Vladimir Putin as a close 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, where he was admitted on Friday. His five children, partner Marta Fascina and younger brother Paolo were with him, a hospital spokesperson said.
A state funeral will be held in Milan Cathedral tomorrow, which the government declared a day of national mourning.