Always Spoke Italian, The Late President Of The European Parliament Was Former Journalist And Nicknamed Il Presidente

European Parliament President David Sassoli. (Wikimedia Commons/European Parliament)

JAKARTA - European Parliament President David Sassoli has died in a hospital in Italy after undergoing treatment, his spokesman said in a tweet on Tuesday.

There were no further details in the post by spokesman Roberto Cuillo, beyond Sassoli's death at 01:15 a.m. local time Tuesday in Aviano, a city in northeastern Italy.

"David Sassoli died at 1.15 a.m. on January 11 at CRO in Aviano, Italy, where he was hospitalized. The date and place of burial will be communicated in the next few hours," Cuillo wrote on Twitter.

The former television news anchor has been hospitalized since December 26 for serious complications from immune system dysfunction, Cuillo said Monday, announcing the cancellation of Sassoli's official activities. Previously, he was treated with pneumonia for several weeks in September last year.

After a three-decade career as an Italian journalist, starting his career in newspapers then moving to television and becoming a national news anchor, Sassoli, who was born in Florence on May 20, 1956, became a member of the European Parliament in 2009, and became a speaker in 2019.

He is a member of the center-left Democratic and Socialist Progressive Alliance, the second-largest group in parliament after the center-right European People's party.

Despite his role as speaker, he has the title of president of the European legislature. His arrival in the room is traditionally announced in Italian as 'Il Presidente'.

Unlike some EU officials, who speak in English and French in public, the late Sassoli chose to speak Italian. Sassoli's death was a blow to a number of his colleagues in the European Parliament.

"What a big shock and a big loss. I am very saddened," wrote Turkish member of the European Parliament (MEP) Ismail Ertug on Twitter, citing the BBC.

Meanwhile, Italian MEP member Paolo Borchia expressed his condolences to the Sassoli family and said the news took him "by surprise".

A vote on his successor had been planned for later this month, with Sassoli having previously indicated he would not be running for re-election.