Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has died aged 86.
The media tycoon is understood to have died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan after undergoing treatment for a lung inflection.
He was hospitalised and admitted to the intensive care unit in April before being released and readmitted on Friday to be treated for chronic leukaemia.
Berlusconi, who served in three governments between 1994 and 2011, had been suffering from leukaemia for some time.
He was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fuelled parties and allegations of corruption.
The controversial politician was banned from politics for six years after being convicted of tax fraud in late 2012.
He had suffered over the years from heart ailments and prostate cancer, and was also taken to hospital after a Covid-19 infection in 2020.
Reacting to the news, Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Berlusconi's death left a "huge void".
He tweeted: "An era is over... Farewell Silvio."
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