Silvio Berlusconi
September 29, 1936 – June 12, 2023
Italian media tycoon and founder of Forza Italia who was Prime Minister of Italy four times between 1994 and 2011.
Biography
Silvio Berlusconi made his fortune in construction in Milan and then built Mediaset, Italy's largest private television group. He also owned the football club AC Milan from 1986 to 2017.
After the collapse of the old parties in the early 1990s he founded Forza Italia and won the 1994 election. That first government lasted only months, but he returned as Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006 and from 2008 to 2011, leaving office during the eurozone debt crisis.
His career was shadowed by trials for corruption, tax fraud and other charges. A tax-fraud conviction in 2013 barred him from the Senate for some years. He later won a seat in the European Parliament and the Italian Senate, and he died in 2023.
Offices held
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Succeeded by
Mario Monti
4 terms
- May 10, 1994 – Jan 17, 1995 Preceded by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Succeeded by Lamberto Dini
- Jun 11, 2001 – Apr 23, 2005 Preceded by Giuliano Amato
- Apr 23, 2005 – May 17, 2006 Succeeded by Romano Prodi
- May 8, 2008 – Nov 16, 2011 Preceded by Romano Prodi Succeeded by Mario Monti
Affiliations
Party membership
- Mar 29, 2009 – Nov 16, 2013 The People of Freedom
