WEB DESK
The president of the European Parliament David Sassoli has died, his office announced early on Tuesday morning.
He passed away after a “serious complication” related to his immune system.
“The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, passed away at 1.15 a.m. on January 11 at the hospital in Aviano, Italy,” his spokesman, Roberto Cuillo said on Twitter.
“The date and place of the funeral will be communicated in the next few hours,” he added.
On Monday, the EU parliament confirmed he had been admitted to hospital in Italy on December 26.
In September 2021, during a plenary session of the parliament, the 65-year-old came down with a bad case of pneumonia.
He was married with two children.
Tributes to David Sassoli
Tributes soon poured in for Sassoli, an Italian social democrat.
“What a big shock and a big loss. I am deeply saddened. He left us too early. My condolences to his family! Dear David, Rest In Peace,” tweeted German MEP Ismail Ertug.
BIOGRAPHY
David Sassoli was born in Florence on May 30, 1956.
He started working as a journalist at small newspapers and news agencies, before moving to the editorial office of Il Giorno in Rome, where he worked for seven years. In 1992, he began working as a television news reporter and correspondent for TG3.
Subsequently he worked on news programmes on Rai Uno and Rai Due, before joining the editorial staff of TG1 in 1999 as a special correspondent. Over the next 10 years, he was responsible for managing prime time news broadcasts, and covering major national and international events. In 2007, he became Deputy Director of TG1 and responsible for in-depth programmes TV7 and TG1 Special.
Since a young age, he was involved in educational associations, such as the Scouts and Catholic youth movements.
When the Partito Democratico (PD) was formed in 2007, he considered it the right place for his political commitment. On 7 June 2009, he was elected to the European Parliament as a member for central Italy. In the 2009-2014 legislature, he was head of delegation of the Partito Democratico in the European Parliament.
In 2014, he was re-elected as an MEP and was elected Vice-President of the European Parliament, with responsibility for Mediterranean Policy, the budget, and buildings. He was a member of the Committee for Transport and Tourism, and led on European railway reform (4th Railway Package), and the Single European Sky.
In May 2019, he began his third term as an MEP for central Italy and on 3 July, he was elected President of the European Parliament.