The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, died in the early hours of Tuesday (11 January) in hospital in Italy, his spokesperson announced on Twitter.
Sassoli, who was 65-years-old had been in hospital since December 26, where he was being treated against a dysfunction of his immune system. Before that, he had been admitted to hospital with pneumonia caused by Legionnaires disease, where he remained for several weeks.
His hospitalisation had been announced on Monday by Cuilo, who said his official duties would be cancelled. Sadly, Sassoli passed away at 1.15am on Tuesday morning.
“David Sassoli passed away at 1.15 am on January 11 at the CRO in Aviano, Italy, where he was hospitalised,” Roberto Cuillo tweeted.
“The date and place of the funeral will be communicated in the next few hours,” he added.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet she was deeply saddened by the passing away of “a great European and Italian”, a “passionate journalist”, an “extraordinary EP President” and a “dear friend”.
We are deeply saddened by the terrible loss of a great European and proud Italian.
David Sassoli was a compassionate journalist, an outstanding President of the European Parliament.
Our thoughts are with his family.
Riposa in pace. pic.twitter.com/GD0Yq10TjJ
— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) January 11, 2022
I am shocked and saddened by the sudden death of the @EP_President David Sassoli. His vision of Europe as a beacon of peace and democracy in the world will shine on as a lasting legacy. We mourn this remarkable Italian and proud European.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) January 11, 2022
The European Parliament sits for a five-year term between elections, but the body’s president serves for half that time. Sassoli had already indicated that he would not seek re-election.
Elected in 2019 as president, a role similar to that of speaker in a national parliament, his two-and-a-half-year mandate was dominated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Good-natured Sassoli earned the parliament’s respect with his sense of organisation, the attention his team paid to teleworking, a remote voting system and his ability to resist French pressure to bring elected officials back to Strasbourg.
In a sign of solidarity during the pandemic, he made the deserted parliamentary premises, available to prepare meals for families in need and to test for COVID.
Health was his own Achilles heel, having recovered from leukaemia.
A heavy smoker, Sassoli was hospitalised in September 2021 due to pneumonia, which kept him away from parliament for several weeks.
On 26 December, he was hospitalised again with “a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system”, according to his spokesman.
Born in Florence on 30 May 1956, Sassoli studied political science before starting work as a newspaper and news agency journalist.
The father of two began working for national broadcaster RAI in 1992, rising through the ranks to become a familiar face for millions of Italians, presenting the evening news on the main channel, of which he also became deputy-director.
Next Tuesday, MEPs are expected to hold the first round of voting for his successor, reports euractiv.com
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