In this photo taken on May 26, 2019, former Italian PM and leader of the right-wing party Forza Italia Silvio Berlusconi leaves the polling station after casting his vote in Milan. Italian ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi died at age 86. (PHOTO / AFP)
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi died Monday at the age of 86 at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, the press office of his political party Forza Italia confirmed.
He was admitted to hospital on Friday for scheduled health check-ups related to his chronic leukemia, according to the hospital.
Berlusconi suffered from a serious case of COVID-19 in 2020, and had also overcome a heart surgery and prostate cancer
His death was immediate front-page news in Italy and beyond. An official with Forza Italia confirmed the news when contacted by Xinhua, though the official did not provide additional details.
READ MORE: Italy ex-premier Berlusconi has leukaemia, source says
Berlusconi suffered from a serious case of COVID-19 in 2020, and had also overcome a heart surgery and prostate cancer.
The billionaire media tycoon was a dominant figure in Italian politics for three decades. Berlusconi headed four separate Italian governments as prime minister between 1994 and 2011.
READ MORE: Italy's Berlusconi's health improves, still in intensive care
Forza Italia, the political party he founded, is a junior partner in the current Italian government headed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
