| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| | [[Image:Logo-pdl-berlusconi.jpg|right|260px]] | | [[Image:Logo-pdl-berlusconi.jpg|right|260px]] |
| − | '''Silvio Berlusconi''' (born [[Milan]], 29 September 1936) is an [[Italian]] businessman and a right-wing politician. He is the leader of the [[Forza Italia]] party which he founded in 1993, and was prime minister of Italy between 1993 and 1994 and again between 2001 and 2006. He is the current [[prime minister]] having been reelected by a substantial majority in April of 2008 after the fall of the centre-left coalition government led by [[Romano Prodi]], which lasted a mere 20 months<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article3744594.ece</ref>. | + | '''Silvio Berlusconi''' (born [[Milan]], 29 September 1936) is an [[Italian]] businessman and a right-wing politician. |
| | | | |
| | + | He is the leader of the [[People of Freedom]] party, the merger of the [[Forza Italia]] party which he founded in 1993 and of Gianfranco Fini's [[National Alliance]] party. |
| | + | |
| | + | He was [[prime minister]] of Italy between 1993 and 1994 and again between 2001 and 2006. He has been reelected by a substantial majority in April of 2008 after the fall of the centre-left coalition government led by [[Romano Prodi]], which lasted a mere 20 months<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article3744594.ece</ref>. On 8 November 2011 Berlusconi announced his resignation. |
| | + | |
| | + | He is a great friend of [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] and he lauded the US President in the special issue of [[Time]] magazine, ''100: The World's Most Influential People''. Nevertheless, he greatly welcomed [[Barack Obama]] saying that he is "young, handsome and tanned" and since then, he has showed a great friendship with the black President. Berlusconi has also declared his friendship with leaders such as [[Gaddafi]] (even kissing his hand) and Putin. |
| | + | |
| | + | ==Business== |
| | His wealth derives from his ownership of the financial conglomerate Fininvest, including Mediaset, which owns several major television channels and newspapers (according to Freedom House, Italy has constantly been "partly free" in regard to freedom of press while Berlusconi was in charge<ref>[http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fop/2009/FreedomofthePress2009_MOPF.pdf]</ref>), but he started as a building contractor. | | His wealth derives from his ownership of the financial conglomerate Fininvest, including Mediaset, which owns several major television channels and newspapers (according to Freedom House, Italy has constantly been "partly free" in regard to freedom of press while Berlusconi was in charge<ref>[http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fop/2009/FreedomofthePress2009_MOPF.pdf]</ref>), but he started as a building contractor. |
| | | | |
| | He is also the owner of the [[soccer]] team [[AC Milan]]. | | He is also the owner of the [[soccer]] team [[AC Milan]]. |
| − |
| |
| − | He is a great friend of [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] and he lauded the US President in the special issue of [[Time]] magazine, ''100: The World's Most Influential People''. Nevertheless, he greatly welcomed [[Barack Obama]] saying that he is "young, handsome and tanned" and since then, he has showed a great friendship with the black President. Berlusconi has also declared his friendship with leaders such as [[Gaddafi]] (even kissing his hand) and Putin.
| |
| | | | |
| | ==Controversies== | | ==Controversies== |