President of the European Parliament (EU), David Sassoli has died at the age of 65.
Sassoli died early Tuesday morning in a hospital in the Italian municipality of Aviano, his spokesman Roberto Cuillo confirmed to DPA.
On Monday, the EU parliament confirmed he had been admitted to a hospital in Italy on December 26, as a result of a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system.
In September 2021, during a plenary session of the parliament, the 65-year-old came down with a bad case of pneumonia.
Sassoli had been president of the 705-seat EU parliament since 2019.
Tributes soon poured in for Sassoli, an Italian social democrat.
“What a big shock and a big loss. I am deeply saddened.
”He left us too early. My condolences to his family! Dear David, Rest In Peace,” tweeted German MEP Ismail Ertug.
A former journalist, Sassoli was first elected at the European Parliament in 2009.
He won another term in 2014 and served as the Parliament’s vice-president.
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