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Silvio Berlusconi biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: Silvio Berlusconi
  • OCCUPATION: Entrepreneur, Prime Minister
  • BIRTH DATE: September 29, 1936 (Age: 75)
  • EDUCATION: University of Milan
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Milan, Italy
  • Nickname: Il Cavaliere
  • ZODIAC SIGN: Libra
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Silvo Berlusconi is an Italian politician and has held the position of Prime Minister on three separate occasions. He amassed his fortune as a media tycoon.

Synopsis

Silvo Berlusconi is an Italian politician who has held the position of Prime Minister on three separate occasions. He amassed a fortune from real estate and media ventures. In 1994, he founded the conservative party Forza Italia and was elected for the first time. Despite being convicted of fraud, he was elected again in 2001. After Prodi's resignation in 2008, Berlusconi won a third term.

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(born Sept. 29, 1936, Milan, Italy) Italian media tycoon and prime minister of Italy (1994; 2001–06); reelected 2008. After graduating from the University of Milan, he became a real estate developer, amassing a considerable fortune by the 1970s. By the 1990s he owned more than 150 businesses, including three television networks and Italy's largest publishing house. In 1994 he founded Forza Italia, a conservative political party, and was elected prime minister. Faced with conflict of interest and other charges, he resigned in December 1994. He was later convicted of fraud and corruption, though the convictions were eventually overturned. Despite these charges and criticism of his control of much of the Italian media, he remained the leader of Forza Italia and again became prime minister in 2001. His support of the Iraq War proved unpopular, and he struggled to improve the country's economy. In the 2006 elections his coalition was defeated by a centre-left bloc headed by Romano Prodi. Following Prodi's resignation in 2008, Berlusconi won a third term as prime minister.

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