European Parliament President David Sassoli passes away

European Parliament President David Sassoli passed away early on January 11, 2022 in a hospital in Italy. He was 65. Sassoli had led the European Union body that approves or rejects legislations and is responsible for establishing budgets and supervises a combination of institutions.

His spokesman Roberto Cuillo confirmed the news on Twitter saying that Sassoli passed away at 1.15 am on January 11 at CRO in Aviano, Italy where he was undergoing treatment for immune system disorder. David Sassoli had been seriously ill in hospital for over two weeks due to an immune system disorder. 

The date and place of the funeral will be communicated in the next few hours, informed the spokesman.

Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, President of the European Commission remembered David Sassoli as a compassionate journalist, an outstanding President of the European Parliament and foremost, a dear friend.

I am deeply saddened by the terrible loss of a great European & proud Italian.

David Sassoli was a compassionate journalist, an outstanding President of the European Parliament and, first & foremost, a dear friend.

My thoughts are with his family.

Riposa in pace, caro David!

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 11, 2022

The European Parliament President had been in the hospital since December 26 due to "a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system." He had been previously admitted with pneumonia for several weeks in September 2021.

About David Sassoli- From Journalist to EU Parliament President 

David Sassoli was an Italian journalist and politician, who was elected as a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the first time in 2009.

Journalism Career

• David Sassoli was born in Florence in Italy in 1956 and studied political science at the University of Rome.

• He started his career as a journalist in a newspaper in Rome. He later collaborated with various newspapers and news agency.

• He then joined the editorial office of a Roman daily newspaper where he covered political events for about 7 years.

• He witness several historical events during his journalism career such as the fall of the Berlin wall on November 9, 1989.

• After being a news reporter for several years, he was appointed as an anchor of TG1, Italy's state-owned TV channel and soon became one of the most notable and popular journalists in the country.

• He was appointed as the deputy director of TG1 in 2007 when Gianni Riotta was appointed the new director of TG1 between 2006-2009.

Switch to Politics 

• David Sassoli left journalist to enter politics in 2009. He became a member of the center-left Democratic Party (PD) and took part in the 2009 European Parliament election from the Central Italy district. 

• He was elected as a member of the European Parliament on June 7, 2009. He became the most voted-for candidate in his constituency with 412,502 personal preferences.

• He served as the Democratic Party's delegation leader in the Parliament between 2009 and 2014.

• Sassoli then took part in the 2013 municipal elections as DP's candidate for the office of Mayor of Rome. He, however, ended up in second place behind Senator Ignazio Marino. 

European Parliament Presidency

• Sassoli was re-elected to the European Parliament in 2014 with 206,170 preferences.

• He was elected as the Vice-President of the European Parliament on July 1, 2014 with 393 votes, making him the second most voted Socialist candidate. He was also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.

• Sassoli was re-elected to the European Parliament in the 2019 elections with 128,533 votes. He was proposed as the new president of the European Parliament on July 2, 2019 by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

• He was elected as the president of the European Parliament by the assembly with 345 votes in favor, succeeding Antonio Tajani. He became the 7th Italian to serve at the post. 

• The President of the European Parliament sits for half the term of the European Parliament. The European Parliament sits for a five-year term. 

• David Sassoli had already indicated that he would not seek re-election to the post. Now the European Parliament will have to vote to decide the successor of David Sassoli. 

• The Members of the European Parliament are expected to hold the first round of voting to elect Sassoli's successor next week.