The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, has died in Italy. The 65-year-old has been in the hospital for a long time. Sassoli was considered a progressive Catholic and a fighter for the rights of immigrants.
The head of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, has passed away in Aviano, Italy. Parliament spokesman Roberto Cuillo announced on Twitter that Sassoli died at 1:15 a.m. at an oncology center in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The 65-year-old Italian was there for more than two weeks “after a serious complication due to a malfunction of the immune system,” Cuillo explained.
Sassoli was taken to hospital on December 26th. All his official meetings have since been canceled. In September Sassoli was being treated at a pneumonia hospital and was unable to carry out his duties as President of the EU Parliament for several weeks. Sassoli has also had leukemia once before.
Speaker of Parliament since 2019
The Social Democrat has been President of Parliament since the 2019 European elections. His term ended this month in the middle of the legislative period, as agreed by EU heads of state and government. Sassoli has previously announced that he would not run again for the post. His successor was to be elected next week at a plenary session of Parliament in Strasbourg.
Many Italian and European politicians expressed condolences immediately in the morning. “Ciao David, lifelong friend,” wrote Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. EU Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans expressed his condolences to the politician’s family. “His warmth was an inspiration to all who njihnin. “My sincere condolences go to his family and loved ones,” the Dutchman wrote on Twitter.
Sassoli was born on May 30, 1956 in Florence, Tuscany. After studying political science, he worked as a journalist, first for newspapers and news agencies and then for Italian public radio. He quickly became a familiar face to millions of Italians when he took on the role of evening news presenter at Rai Uno. In 2007 he also became deputy director of the TG1 news program.
In 2009 he was elected to the EU Parliament, on the list of the Social Democratic Party (PD). In 2014 he was elected one of the 14 vice-presidents of the EU Chamber of Deputies. In addition to his parliamentary work, Sassoli continued to write as a book author, he has also written for newspapers and magazines.
His rise to the post of President of the EU Parliament as the successor to his conservative compatriot Antonio Tajani was a surprise to many, as Italy held two other key posts in 2019, with the current Prime Minister in Rome, Mario Draghi, as head of the European Central Bank and Federica Mogherini as EU external representative. Sassoli made it clear that he saw his election as a sign of Parliament’s independence in the power struggle between the governments of EU states. Sassoli was, among other things, a critic of the migration policy of many member states.
Recent activities in the EP
Sassoli in December 2021 participated in the awarding of the Sakharov Prize, which was given to Daria Navalny, the daughter of award winner Alexei Navalny and his confidant Leonid Volkov. The “president”, who often spoke his native Italian, handled parliamentary debates harshly but without verbal criticism, and his two-and-a-half-year term was marked by the Corona pandemic. internet and networks.But his organizational skills made him also gain the respect of MPs.
As a sign of solidarity in the midst of the crisis, he made available the premises of the Strasbourg and Brussels Parliaments to prepare meals for families in need and to set up a testing center for COVID-19. Sassoli has left behind two children. “The date and place of the funeral will be announced later,” Sassol’s spokesman wrote on Twitter./DW