A state funeral was held in Milan Wednesday for Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister who dominated the country’s public life, shaping sports, media, and politics.
Berlusconi — a populist long before Donald Trump emerged on the scene — died Monday after at age 86. Politicians, AC Milan fans, and other mourners made the trip to Milan’s Duomo to bid farewell.
Italy, whose politicians last for a notoriously short period of time, saw Berlusconi lead the country as prime minister for nine years across three separate terms. His party, Forza Italia, was named after a soccer cheer and was the primary vehicle for Berlusconi’s political ambitions since its creation in 1993. He won handily the following year and remained a force in Italian politics until the present day, serving as a coalition partner to Georgia Meloni, Italy’s current prime minister and one of the most conservative to take office.
“Silvio Berlusconi was above all a fighter. He was a man who was never afraid to defend his beliefs and it was exactly that courage, that determination that made him one of the most influential men in the history of Italy,” Meloni said in a video statement. The Italian prime minister declared a national day of mourning for Berlusconi in addition to providing him a state funeral.
A businessman, Berlusconi promised through his center-right party that he would lower taxes, cut spending to promote efficiency, and bring economic prosperity. He was ultimately ousted from office in 2011, during his third term, as Italy grappled with a debt crisis.
The populist label emerged more from his tone than his policies. He befriended strongmen such as longtime Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and he would rhetorically evade his opponents through his many controversies, turning accusations on their head. Berlusconi was the subject of multiple sex scandals and was convicted of tax fraud in 2013.
He was a crooner on cruise ships in the 1960s. He would soon make his entrance into various real-estate ventures before turning to television. Berlusconi rivaled the state broadcaster, Rai, by building up channels such as Italia 1, Rete 4, and the well-known Canale 5. The media mogul knew how to entertain, understanding that glamor, sex, and shock sell.
Berlusconi owned AC Milan for three decades and was one of the most successful soccer presidents in history. He built the famed Arrigo Sacchi side that revolutionized soccer and won back-to-back European championships. “All of the things I work on are profane. But Milan is sacred,” Berlusconi once said.
He used the popularity he gained from media and soccer to boost his political career.
Berlusconi continued to make headlines after his time as prime minister ended.
He was suffering from leukemia for some time when he died. Tributes were paid to him from far and wide. Pope Francis said he was a “a protagonist in Italian political life,” Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán called him a “great fighter,” and former president George W. Bush said there was “never a dull moment with Silvio.”
He is survived by his five children.