European Parliament President David Sassoli has died at 65
David-Maria Sassoli, an Italian center-left politician and former journalist chosen to lead the European Parliament in 2019, died early Tuesday from serious complications with his immune system, his spokesman said. He was 65 and had been in a hospital in Aviano, Italy, since Dec. 26.
Sassoli left a long career in broadcast journalism to win a seat in the European Parliament in 2009 as a member of the center-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the second-largest faction in the 705-member European Union legislature. His selection as European Parliament president was a last-minute surprise, at least to him, and part of an intricate deal among EU leaders that also placed German Christian Democrat Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president and Belgian free-market liberal Charles Michel as European Council president.
Michel called Sassoli a "sincere and passionate European" after his death was announced and said, "we already miss his human warmth, his generosity, his friendliness, and his smile." Von der Leyen mourned "the terrible loss of a great European & proud Italian" who "was a compassionate journalist, an outstanding President of the European Parliament and, first & foremost, a dear friend."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The EU Parliament president, one of the top jobs in the 450 million-member bloc, presides over sessions and oversees the legislature's activities. Sassoli, a conciliatory leader, "had spent much of his two-and-a-half-year term steering the Parliament through the extraordinary difficulty of the coronavirus pandemic, which effectively shuttered its buildings in Brussels and Strasbourg for some time," and hammering out a budget deal, Politico reports.
Sassoli had already decided against seeking re-election next month, and EU lawmakers are expected to pick Roberta Metsola, a conservative from Malta and first vice president of Parliament, as his successor.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
Ukraine: Donald Trump pivots againIn the Spotlight US president apparently warned Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Vladimir Putin’s terms or face destruction during fractious face-to-face
-
Autumn Budget: will Rachel Reeves raid the rich?Talking Point To fill Britain’s financial black hole, the Chancellor will have to consider everything – except an income tax rise
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
