European Parliament president David Sassoli dead at 65
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The former journalist passed away on Tuesday in an Italian hospital.
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President of the European Parliament David Sassoli
After being hospitalized for more than two weeks due to an immune system malfunction, 65-year-old President of the European Parliament David Sassoli has died, according to his spokesman.
Roberto Cuillo tweeted that Sassoli "passed away at 1:15 am on 11 January at the CRO in Aviano, Italy, where he was hospitalized," adding that the funeral location and date will be announced in the coming hours.
Cuillo, who announced the postponement of Sassoli's official duties on Monday, said the speaker has been hospitalized since December 26 owing to "a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system."
Last September, Sassoli was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia for multiple weeks.
After a three-decade career as an Italian journalist, beginning in newspapers and progressing to television, where he became a nationally recognized anchor, Florence-born Sassoli was elected to the European Parliament in 2009, and speaker in 2019.
He was a member of the center-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the parliament's second-largest grouping after the center-right European People's Party.
Sassoli's entry in the chamber was usually proclaimed as "Il Presidente" in Italian.
MEPs are likely to begin the first round of voting for his replacement on Tuesday next week.
