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France 24
France 24
Politics
Benjamin DODMAN

Silvio Berlusconi, master populist who dominated Italian politics, dies at 86

A scandal-scarred four-time prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi was a dominant figure in Italian politics, business and the media. © Andreas Solaro, AFP

Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media tycoon and four-time prime minister who brushed off a litany of legal battles and sex scandals to dominate Italian public life for more than two decades, died in Milan on Monday aged 86. The former Italian prime minister will be given a state funeral on Wednesday, which has been declared a day of national mourning.

Italy’s longest-serving prime minister since World War II, Berlusconi had been readmitted to Milan’s San Raffaele hospital for a routine check-up on Friday, just weeks after doctors revealed he had a rare type of blood cancer. His death was announced on June 12 by Italian media.

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