Former Prime Minister Berlusconi Battling Leukemia Shows Signs of Health Recovery

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (86), who is receiving intensive care in the intensive care unit, spent a peaceful night without any special incidents, according to the ANSA news agency on the 11th (local time).

Berlusconi was urgently transferred to San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, a city in northern Italy, on the 5th due to respiratory difficulties and spent his sixth night in the intensive care unit.

He had been secretly suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) for two years. Recently, his leukemia suddenly worsened, and he developed a lung infection, leading to intensive treatment at the hospital.

Although his family and close aides visited the hospital, raising speculation that his death might be imminent, fortunately, Berlusconi appears to have overcome the critical phase.

Berlusconi, who transformed from an Italian media tycoon to a politician, first came to power in the 1994 general election and served as prime minister for seven months. He then held the office again from 2001 to 2006 and from 2008 to 2011. Serving as prime minister three times (four times including the cabinet reshuffle in 2005) for a total of nine years, he set the record as Italy's longest-serving prime minister since World War II.

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