European Parliament President David Sassoli died on Tuesday at the age of 65 in a hospital in Italy after two weeks in hospital for a malfunctioning immune system, his spokesman said.
Hours before announcing the death, the spokesman had reported the hospitalization of the President of the European Parliament and the suspension of his official activities.
The Italian, who had a history of leukemia, had already been hospitalized in 2021 because of pneumonia that kept him away from parliamentary activity for several weeks.
The term of office of this former journalist, a news presenter in Italy, began in 2019 and expired this month, as the presidency corresponds to half a term in the European legislature, of 5 years. The election of his successor is scheduled for January 18.
In mid-December, his group, the Social Democrats (second largest force in parliament), renounced to present a candidate, opening the door to the right-wing candidate, Roberta Metsola, the current first vice president of Maltese.
A member of the European Parliament since 2009, Sassoli was elected in July 2019 as president of the Chamber after an agreement to distribute the presidency of the main positions of responsibility in the European Union among the three largest coalitions in the bloc.
As a result of this pact, the right won the presidency of the European Commission with Ursula von der Leyen and the liberals of the center took the leadership of the European Council with Charles Michel.
His term was marked by the health crisis that forced the European Parliament, the only directly elected community institution in the bloc, to work remotely.
During this time, Sassoli ceded the empty Parliament premises for the preparation of meals for people in need and the installation of a testing center for Covid-19.
In mid-November, Sassoli received “unanimous support” from his group to run for a second term. But then he avoided declaring himself officially a candidate, and his state of health filled his candidacy with uncertainty.
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