Global News – David Sassoli, the Italian journalist who worked his way up in politics while defending the downtrodden and repressed to become president of the European Union’s parliament, died at a hospital in Italy early Tuesday, his spokesperson said. EU Council President Charles Michel called Sassoli a “sincere and passionate European. We already miss his human warmth, his generosity, his friendliness and his smile.” No details were provided in a tweet by spokesperson Roberto Cuillo. Sassoli, a 65-year-old socialist, had been hospitalized since Dec. 26 due to abnormal functioning of his immune system, Cuillo said in a statement released the day before Sassoli’s death.
Il funerale di David Sassoli sarà venerdì a Roma
AGI – Giovedì camera ardente in campidoglio. Il presidente del Parlamento europeo è stato stroncato a 65 anni da una grave patologia che aveva compromesso il sistema immunitario.
La camera ardente per l’ultimo saluto al presidente del Parlamento europeo, David Sassoli, si terrà giovedì 13 gennaio in Campidoglio sala Protomoteca dalle ore 10 alle 18. I funerali si terranno venerdì 14 alle 12 nella chiesa Santa Maria degli Angeli, piazza della Repubblica a Roma.
Ai funerali potrebbe partecipare anche il presidente della Repubblica Sergio Mattarella. Lunedì alle 18 alla plenaria di Strasburgo l’ex presidente del Consiglio ed ex parlamentare europeo, Enrico Letta, pronuncerà il discorso ufficiale nella cerimonia di commemorazione alla quale partecipertà anche Mario Draghi.
La notizia della morte di Sassoli è arrivata nella notte con un tweet del portavoce, Roberto Cuillo. Sassoli è deceduto alle 1.15 ad Aviano dove era ricoverato al Centro di riferimento oncologico, oggi dopo un ricovero per una grave complicanza legata a una disfunzione del sistema immunitario di cui il Paese era venuto a conoscenza solo poche ore prima. “Data e luogo dei funerali saranno comunicati nelle prossime ore”, scrive Cuillo.
European Parliament President David Sassoli dies age 65
CNN – European Parliament President David Sassoli has died in Italy, according to a Tweet from his spokesman early Tuesday local time.”The @EP_President David Sassoli passed away at 1.15 a.m. on 11 January at the CRO in Aviano (PN), Italy, where he was hospitalized. The date and place of the funeral will be communicated in the next few hours,” spokesman Roberto Cuillo said. On Monday, Cuillo said Sassoli had been in hospital in Italy since December 26, because of a serious complication due to a dysfunction of his immune system.Sassoli, an Italian center-left politician, was also treated in a French hospital for pneumonia in September, Reuters reported, citing his office.Sassoli, 65, has been president of the 705-seat parliament since 2019. It is a largely ceremonial role and his term was due to end this month and he was not expected to seek a second one, according to Reuters.
European Parliament President David Sassoli dies age 65
CTVNews – Sassoli had been struggling for months with poor health after he suffered pneumonia caused by the legionella bacteria in September. His health steadily declined afterward and he was forced to miss several important legislative meetings. Yet, as much as possible, he stayed on the job, where his vigor and easy smile had always been a trademark. He was at his strongest when he took up the cause of migrants who died crossing the Mediterranean or dissidents such as Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is taking on the Kremlin from a jail cell.
“Everyone loved his smile and his kindness, yet he knew how to fight for what he believed in,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, reminiscing how Sassoli had traveled to Germany to see the infamous Berlin Wall come down well over three decades ago.
David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, Dies at 65
TheNewYorkTimes – He was a well-known journalist in his native Italy before going into politics, and devoted his tenure to making the Parliament more prominent.
BRUSSELS — David Sassoli, an Italian journalist-turned-politician who was president of the European Parliament and dedicated his later years to raising the institution’s profile and seeking to increase its powers during the rocky years of Brexit and the pandemic, died early Tuesday in Italy, his spokesman said. He was 65.
Mr. Sassoli’s office said on Twitter that he had died in the Italian town of Aviano.
No specific cause of death was immediately available. He had been in poor health for months, hospitalized with severe pneumonia during a plenary session of the Parliament in Strasbourg, France, in September, and admitted to an Italian hospital on Dec. 26 because his immune system was not functioning normally, his spokesman, Roberto Cuillo, said on Monday on social media.
Mr. Sassoli had a decades-long career in print and broadcast journalism in his native Italy, covering era-defining events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, before trying his hand at politics in 2009.
He was elected as a member of the European Parliament with the center-left Democratic Party, and re-elected twice, in 2014 and 2019, before being voted in as president of the body in the summer of 2019. In 2013, he ran an unsuccessful campaign to become mayor of Rome.
Morto David Sassoli, una vita tra giornalismo e politica
IlSole24Ore – Era stato ricoverato in Italia per il sopraggiungere di una grave complicanza dovuta a una disfunzione del sistema immunitario.
Presidente del Parlamento europeo dal 2019, David Sassoli è mancato nella notte tra lunedì e martedì 11 gennaio a Aviano, in provincia di Pordenone, dove era ricoverato per una grave malattia. In questi ultimi anni, l’uomo politico ha difeso strenuamente il ruolo dell’assemblea parlamentare e il rispetto dei Trattati europei, gestendo un momento particolarmente difficile nella vita politica comunitaria, segnato dalla pandemia virale, dall’uscita della Gran Bretagna dall’Unione europea e dalla deriva della democrazia in alcuni paesi membri.
I primi passi nel giornalismo
Nato a Firenze nel 1956, David Sassoli era cresciuto a Roma, dove si era diplomato e aveva iniziato gli studi universitari. Tuttavia, il giornalismo avrebbe preso presto il sopravvento. Iniziò quindi una lunga carriera che lo avrebbe portato al giornale Il Tempo, all’agenzia di stampa Asca, al quotidiano Il Giorno e infine alla Rai, dove fu assunto nel 1992. Nei primi anni 2000 David Sassoli fu il principale presentatore del telegiornale Tg1 di metà giornata e poi della sera .Le sue radici erano nella sinistra cattolica.
Sua la legge che liberalizzò il mercato ferroviario
Nel 2009 decise quindi di entrare in politica, candidato del Partito democratico alle elezioni europee di quell’anno. Con 405.967 preferenze, fu il primo eletto nella circoscrizione dell’Italia centrale. Verrà rieletto nel 2014. Fu l’autore di una legge che impose una liberalizzazione del mercato ferroviario. Diventò vicepresidente del Parlamento europeo, un ruolo che gli permetterà di impratichirsi con i primi impegni istituzionali. L’uomo politico fu eletto settimo presidente italiano del Parlamento europeo il 3 luglio 2019.
