EPP mourns the passing of Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former Prime minister and leader of Forza Italia

12. June 2023

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Today, the European People’s Party mourns the passing of Silvio Berlusconi, the founder and leader of our member party Forza Italia and the longest serving Italian Prime Minister in the post-war era. A charismatic businessman, Berlusconi became a central figure of Italy’s centre-right family thanks to his ability to unite different voices in Italy’s political landscape. In 1994, he founded his Forza Italia party by championing business-oriented economic reforms and won elections that year. Berlusconi was the first person to assume the premiership without having held any prior government or administrative offices. Berlusconi owed his political longevity to a tireless faith in the role and influence of pro-European centre-right policies. He remained the leader of Forza Italia from 1994 to 2009, and of its successor party "The  People of Freedom" from 2009 to 2013. He was President of the revived Forza Italia from 2013 to his death. After serving nearly 19 years as a member of Italy's Chamber of Deputies, he became a senator following the 2013 general elections. He was also elected as a Member of the European Parliament in the 2019 elections, before returning to the Italian Senate in 2022. The EPP family extends its heartfelt condolences to Berlusconi’s family, our member party Forza Italia, and to the Italian people.


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For more information contact:

 

Alexandra Henman

Deputy Spokesperson

+32 471 90 76 84

alh@epp.eu

 

Angelos Athanasopoulos

National and Regional Press Director

+32 471 90 76 35

aa@epp.eu

 

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