Second Berlusconi cabinet 57th cabinet of Italy
'
Date formed	11 June 2001
Date dissolved	23 April 2005 (1,412 days)
People and organizations
Head of government	Silvio Berlusconi
Head of state	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Total number of ministers	23
Member party	Forza Italia (FI) National Alliance (AN) Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC) Lega Nord
History
Election(s)	2001 election
Outgoing election	2006 election
Legislature term(s)	31 May 2001 - 28 April 2006 (XIV)
Incoming formation	Berlusconi II Cabinet formation, 2001
Outgoing formation	Berlusconi II Cabinet formation, 2005
Previous	Amato II Cabinet
Successor	Berlusconi III Cabinet

The Berlusconi II Cabinet was the 57th cabinet of the Italian Republic, and the first cabinet of the XIV Legislature. It took office following the 2001 elections, and held office from 11 June 2001 until 23 April 2005, a total of 1,412 days, or 3 years, 10 months and 12 days. It held office for the longest period in the history of the Republic, and for the second longest period in the history of unified Italy since 1861 (outlasted only by the Mussolini government). During its long tenure, its composition changed significantly. Following the poor performance of the centrist parties in the Italian regional elections of 2005, most of the ministers of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and the New PSI resigned from the government, which was succeeded by the Berlusconi III Cabinet.

Formation[link]

In 2001 Berlusconi again ran as leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms (Italian: La Casa delle Libertà), which included the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, the Lega Nord, the National Alliance and other parties. Berlusconi's success in the May 2001 general election led to him becoming Prime Minister once more, with the coalition receiving 45.4% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies and 42.5% for the Senate.

On the television interviews programme Porta a Porta, during the last days of the electoral campaign, Berlusconi created a powerful impression on the public by undertaking to sign a so-called Contratto con gli Italiani (English: Contract with the Italians), an idea copied outright by his advisor Luigi Crespi from the Newt Gingrich's Contract with America introduced six weeks before the 1994 US Congressional election,^[1] which was widely considered to be a creative masterstroke in his 2001 campaign bid for prime ministership. In this solemn agreement, Berlusconi claimed his commitment on improving several aspects of the Italian economy and life. Firstly, he undertook to simplify the complex tax system by introducing just two tax rates (33% for those earning over 100,000 euros, and 23% for anyone earning less than that figure: anyone earning less than 11,000 euros a year would not be taxed); secondly, he promised to halve the unemployment rate; thirdly, he undertook to finance and develop a massive new public works programme. Fourthly, he promised to raise the minimum monthly pension rate to 516 euros; and fifthly, he would suppress the crime wave by introducing police officers to patrol all local zones and areas in Italy's major cities.^[2] Berlusconi undertook to refrain from putting himself up for re-election in 2006 if he failed to honour at least four of these five promises.

The government obtained the confidence of the senate on 20 June 2001 with 175 votes in favour, 133 against and 5 abstentions^[3], and the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies on 21 June 2001 with 351 votes in favour, 261 against and 1 abstention^[4].

Opposition parties claim Berlusconi was not able to achieve the goals he promised in his Contratto con gli Italiani. Some of his partners in government, especially the National Alliance and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats have admitted the Government fell short of the promises made in the agreement, attributing the failure to an unforeseeable downturn in global economic conditions. Berlusconi himself has consistently asserted that he achieved all the goals of the agreement, and said his Government provided un miracolo continuo (a continuous miracle) that made all 'earlier governments pale' (by comparison). He attributed the widespread failure to recognize these achievements to a campaign of mystification and vilification in the printed media, asserting that 85% of newspapers were opposed to him.^[5] Luca Ricolfi, an independent analyst, held that Berlusconi had managed to maintain only one promise out of five, the one concerning minimum pension levels. The other four promises were not, in Luca Ricolfi’s view, honoured. In particular, the undertakings on the tax simplification and the reduction of crime.^[6]

Fall[link]

House of Freedoms did not do as well in the 2003 local elections as it did in the 2001 national elections. In common with many other European governing groups, in the 2004 elections of the European Parliament, gaining 43.37% support. Forza Italia's support was also reduced from 29.5% to 21.0% (in the 1999 European elections Forza Italia had 25.2%). As an outcome of these results the other coalition parties, whose electoral results were more satisfactory, asked Berlusconi and Forza Italia for greater influence in the government's political line.

In the 2005 regional elections (3 April/4 April 2005), the centre-left gubernatorial candidates won in 12 out of 14 regions where control of local governments and governorships was at stake. Berlusconi's coalition kept only two of the regional bodies (Lombardy and Veneto) up for re-election. Three parties, Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, National Alliance and New Italian Socialist Party, threatened to withdraw from the Berlusconi government. The Italian Premier, after some hesitation, then presented to the President of the Republic a request for the dissolution of his government on 20 April 2005.

Composition[link]

Ministers without portfolio[link]

Sources[link]

• Italian Government - Berlusconi II Cabinet

v t e Cabinets of the Republic of Italy De Gasperi II • De Gasperi III • De Gasperi IV • De Gasperi V • De Gasperi VI • De Gasperi VII • De Gasperi VIII • Pella • Fanfani I • Scelba • Segni I • Zoli • Fanfani II • Segni II • Tambroni • Fanfani III • Fanfani IV • Leone I • Moro I • Moro II • Moro III • Leone II • Rumor I • Rumor II • Rumor III • Colombo • Andreotti I • Andreotti II • Rumor IV • Rumor V • Moro IV • Moro V • Andreotti III • Andreotti IV • Andreotti V • Cossiga I • Cossiga II • Forlani • Spadolini I • Spadolini II • Fanfani V • Craxi I • Craxi II • Fanfani VI • Goria • De Mita • Andreotti VI • Andreotti VII • Amato I • Ciampi • Berlusconi I • Dini • Prodi I • D'Alema I • D'Alema II • Amato II • Berlusconi II • Berlusconi III • Prodi II • Berlusconi IV • Monti

Franco Frattini
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 8 May 2008 – 16 November 2011
Prime Minister	Silvio Berlusconi
Preceded by	Massimo D'Alema
Succeeded by	Giulio Terzi Sant'Agata
In office 14 November 2002 – 18 November 2004
Prime Minister	Silvio Berlusconi
Preceded by	Silvio Berlusconi (Acting)
Succeeded by	Gianfranco Fini
European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security
In office 22 November 2004 – 8 May 2008
President	José Manuel Barroso
Preceded by	António Vitorino
Succeeded by	Jacques Barrot
Personal details
Born	(1957-03-14) 14 March 1957 (age 55) Rome, Italy
Political party	People of Freedom (2009–present)
Other political affiliations	Socialist Party (Before 1996) Forza Italia (2001–2009)

Franco Frattini (born 14 March 1957 in Rome) is an Italian politician, who served as Italy's Foreign minister in the Berlusconi Cabinet until 16 November 2011. Before 8 May 2008 he served as European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security and one of five vice-presidents of the 27-member Barroso Commission.

Career[link]

Initially a member of the Italian Socialist Party, Frattini was first elected MP within Silvio Berlusconi's party Forza Italia in 1996, and has been a member of Silvio Berlusconi's government since 2001, and Foreign minister of Italy since 14 November 2002; he is also a member of the centre-right party People of Freedom.

On 4 November 2004, he was nominated to take up the Justice and security portfolio in the Commission, in place of the controversial Rocco Buttiglione (who outed Frattini as a Freemason).^[1] His resignation from the Italian government took effect on 18 November. Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini succeeded him as Foreign Minister. Frattini has outlined his key priorities as: fundamental Rights and citizenship; the fight against terrorism and organised crime; immigration and asylum, visa and border issues; closer co-operation between police, judicial and customs authorities; ensuring all EU citizens have the same access to justice; and the Rights of the Child.

Frattini is outspoken in his opposition to violence and sexual content in videogames. In 2007 he called for a ban on the horror title Rule of Rose, and criticised the EU-endorsed PEGI system for granting the game a 16-years-or-over age rating. Reports on Gamespot showed he was seeking a Europe-wide ban on violent videogames. On 6 February 2007 – Safer Internet Day 2007 – Frattini recalled the need to protect children's rights, saying: "I am deeply concerned at this potential harm by the internet to children. This could involve people preying on them or children accessing racist, cruel or violent material."^[2][3]

In February 2006 during the Danish cartoons row he defended the media's freedom of speech, though did express disagreement with subject of the cartoons.^[4] November saw the commissioner's concern for child welfare extended to video games, calling for tougher controls; anything relating to stricter self-regulation to an outright ban^[5] During that year, the staff of his DG grew to 465, accounting for 16% of the Commission's workload (75% more than any other area).^[6]

Frattini giving a speech at the European Youth Parliament in March 2007

Interviewed by Reuters he declared his intention to promote online communications monitoring and censorship of "dangerous words" like "bomb, kill, genocide or terrorism" and was expected make a proposal to member states in November 2007.^[7]

At the start of 2007, Frattini backed an Italian push for EU support of a worldwide ban on the death penalty. The Commissioner has been pushing for greater cooperation along Europe's borders, in March proposing backing Frontex with what Frattini describes as an "embryo of what the European coastguard" would be.^[8] A number of boats and aircraft were promised to Frontex, by July 2007 few have yet arrived. Despite planning to introduce permanent patrols, Frattini was criticised for contributing to the migration situation in Malta; due to the island's position, Malta receives a lot of illegal immigrants attempting to cross to Europe. Although they do not intend to live in Malta, migrants entering the EU need to be processed in the country they enter and Malta does not have the facilities to cope with such large numbers.^[9] In April he has called for more powers to be given to Eurojust, with the power to initiate prosecutions with a European Public Prosecutor.^[10] He relaxed visas on the western Balkan countries signifying closer cooperation with the region,^[11] proposed an EU "blue card", based on the US "green card" scheme^[6] and has begun a push for common asylum policies.^[12] Following the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack he criticised the handling of Islam by member-states and called for a "European Islam".^[13]

During his time as EU Commissioner Frattini argued for a more liberal EU migration policy. Instead of closing the borders he suggested to allow for immigration of up to 20 million migrants from Asia and Africa. Immigrants should not be seen as threats but as an enrichment to the European Union.^[14]

He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2009.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website at the European Commission
• BBC profile

Franco Frattini v t e Italian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Italy Cavour · Ricasoli · Rattazzi · Pasolini · Visconti-Venosta · La Marmora · Visconti-Venosta · Campello · Menabrea · Visconti-Venosta · Melefari · Depretis · Corti · Cairoli · Depretis · Cairoli · Mancini · Depretis · Robilant · Depretis · Crispi · Starabba di Rudinì · Brin · De Blanc · Caetani · Capelli · Canevaro · Visconti-Venosta · Prinetti · Tittoni · Paternò-Castello · Guicciardini · Tittoni · Guicciardini · Paternò-Castello · Barone Sidney Sonnino · Tittoni · Scialoja · Sforza · Tommasi della Torretta · Schanzer · Mussolini · Grandi · Mussolini · Ciano · Mussolini · Guariglia · Badoglio · Bonomi · De Gasperi Italian Republic De Gasperi · Nenni · Sforza · De Gasperi · Pella · Piccioni · Martino · Pella · Fanfani · Pella · Segni · Fanfani · Piccioni · Saragat · Moro · Fanfani · Moro · Fanfani · Medici · Nenni · Moro · Medici · Moro · Rumor · Forlani · Malfatti · Ruffini · Colombo · Andreotti · De Michelis · Scotti · Colombo · Andreatta · Elia · Martino · Agnelli · Dini · Ruggiero · Berlusconi · Frattini · Fini · D'Alema · Frattini · Terzi di Sant'Agata v t e Barroso Commission I (2004–2009) Joaquín Almunia · Catherine Ashton6 · José Manuel Barroso1 · Jacques Barrot2 · Joe Borg · Karel De Gucht9 · Stavros Dimas · Benita Ferrero-Waldner · Ján Figeľ10 · Franco Frattini2, 5 · Mariann Fischer Boel · Dalia Grybauskaitė7 · Danuta Hübner8 · Siim Kallas2 · László Kovács · Neelie Kroes · Meglena Kuneva3 · Markos Kyprianou4 · Peter Mandelson6 · Charlie McCreevy · Louis Michel9 · Leonard Orban3 · Andris Piebalgs · Janez Potočnik · Viviane Reding · Olli Rehn · Paweł Samecki8 · Maroš Šefčovič10 · Algirdas Šemeta7 · Vladimír Špidla · Antonio Tajani2, 5 · Androulla Vassiliou4 · Günter Verheugen2 · Margot Wallström2 1 = President. 2 = Vice President. 3 = Served from 1 January 2007. 4 = Vassiliou replaced Kyprianou on 3 March 2008. 5 = Tajani replaced Frattini on 18 June 2008. 6 = Ashton replaced Mandelson on 3 October 2008. 7 = Šemeta replaced Grybauskaitė on 1 July 2009. 8 = Samecki replaced Hübner on 4 July 2009. 9 = De Gucht replaced Michel on 17 July 2009. 10 = Šefčovič replaced Figeľ on 1 October 2009. v t e Dini Cabinet (1995 - 1996) Scalzini | Ossicini | Frattini | Barberi | Motzo | Negri | D'Addio | Agnelli | Brancaccio | Coronas | Mancuso | Caianiello | Masera | Fantozzi | Arcelli | Corcione | Lombardi | Baratta | Luchetti | Caravale | Gambino | Clò | Guzzanti | Treu | Antonio Paolucci | Salvini  v t e Berlusconi II Cabinet (2001–2005) Berlusconi | Fini | Follini | La Loggia | Pisanu | Scajola | Frattini | Mazzella | Baccini | Stanca | Tremaglia | Prestigiacomo | Buttiglione | Bossi | Calderoli | Giovanardi | Ruggiero | Castelli | Tremonti | Siniscalco | Marzano | Moratti | Maroni | Martino | Alemanno | Lunardi | Sirchia | Urbani | Gasparri | Matteoli  v t e Berlusconi IV Cabinet (2008–2011) Berlusconi | Tremonti | Maroni | Alfano | Palma | Frattini | Sacconi | Fazio | Gelmini | La Russa | Scajola | Romani | Zaia | Romano | Prestigiacomo | Matteoli | Bondi | Galan | Bossi | Ronchi | Bernini | Vito | Brunetta | Calderoli | Fitto | Meloni | Carfagna | Rotondi | Brambilla | Brancher

A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (April 2012)

Silvio Berlusconi
50th Prime Minister of Italy
In office 8 May 2008 – 16 November 2011
President	Giorgio Napolitano
Preceded by	Romano Prodi
Succeeded by	Mario Monti
In office 11 June 2001 – 17 May 2006
President	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Giorgio Napolitano
Deputy	Giulio Tremonti Gianfranco Fini Marco Follini
Preceded by	Giuliano Amato
Succeeded by	Romano Prodi
In office 10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995
President	Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Deputy	Giuseppe Tatarella Roberto Maroni
Preceded by	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Succeeded by	Lamberto Dini
Personal details
Born	(1936-09-29) 29 September 1936 (age 75) Milan, Italy
Political party	Forza Italia (1994–2008) The People of Freedom (2008–present)
Spouse(s)	Carla Dall'Oglio (1965–1985, Divorced) Veronica Lario (1990–2010, Divorced)
Children	Marina Pier Silvio Barbara Eleonora Luigi
Alma mater	University of Milan
Signature
Website	https://www.forzasilvio.it/

Silvio Berlusconi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsilvjo berluˈskoːni] ( listen); born 29 September 1936) is an Italian politician and media tycoon who served three times as Prime Minister of Italy from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the controlling shareholder of Mediaset and owner of A.C. Milan. He is nicknamed Il Cavaliere (The Knight) for his knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour, which he received in 1977.^[1]

Berlusconi is the longest-serving post-war Prime Minister of Italy, and third longest-serving since Italy's unification, after Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Giolitti, holding three separate terms. Technically, he has been sworn in four times because after a cabinet reshuffle, as happened with Berlusconi in 2005, the new ministry is sworn in and subjected to a vote of confidence. He is the leader of the People of Freedom political movement, a centre-right party he founded in 2009. From November 2009 to November 2011, he was the most senior leader of the G8 countries. In 2012, Forbes magazine ranked him as the 169th richest man in the world with a net worth of US$5.9 billion.^[2]

Berlusconi's political rise was rapid and surrounded by some controversy. He was elected as a Member of the Chamber of Deputies for the first time and appointed as Prime Minister following the March 1994 parliamentary elections, when Forza Italia gained a relative majority a mere three months after having been officially launched. However, his cabinet collapsed after nine months, due to internal disagreements in his coalition. In the April 1996 snap parliamentary elections, Berlusconi was defeated by the centre-left candidate Romano Prodi. In the May 2001 parliamentary elections, he was again the centre-right candidate for Prime Minister and won against the centre-left candidate Francesco Rutelli. Berlusconi then formed his second and third cabinets, until 2006.

Berlusconi was leader of the centre-right coalition in the April 2006 parliamentary elections, which he lost by a very narrow margin, his opponent again being Romano Prodi. He was re-elected in the parliamentary elections of April 2008 following the collapse of Prodi's government and sworn in for a third time as Prime Minister on 8 May 2008.

Berlusconi was criticised for his dominance over the Italian media whilst he held political office.^[3] His broadcasting company Mediaset is the largest in the country and one of the biggest in Europe, Berlusconi never fulfilled his election promises to sell off his assets in the company to avoid a conflict of interest. His leadership was also undermined by sex scandals.^[4] After losing his majority in parliament amid growing fiscal problems related to the European debt crisis, Berlusconi officially resigned as Prime Minister on 16 November 2011.^[5]

Family background and personal life[link]

Berlusconi was born in Milan in 1936. He was raised there in a middle-class family.^[6] His father, Luigi Berlusconi (1908–1989) was a bank employee and his mother, Rosa Bossi (1911–2008), a housewife.^{[citation needed]} Silvio was the first of three children; he had a sister, Maria Francesca Antonietta Berlusconi (1943–2009) and has a brother, Paolo Berlusconi (born 1949), both entrepreneurs.^{[citation needed]}

After completing his secondary school education at a Salesian college, he studied law at the Università Statale in Milan, graduating (with honor) in 1961 with a thesis on the legal aspects of advertising. Berlusconi was not required to serve the standard one-year stint in the Italian army which was compulsory at the time.^[7] During his university studies he was a upright bass player in a group formed with the now Mediaset Chairman and amateur pianist Fedele Confalonieri and occasionally performed as a cruise ship crooner. In later life he wrote AC Milan's anthem with the Italian music producer and pop singer Tony Renis and Forza Italia's anthem with the opera director Renato Serio. With the Neapolitan singer Mariano Apicella he wrote two Neapolitan song albums: Meglio 'na canzone in 2003 and L'ultimo amore in 2006. Berlusconi also owns the Serie A Club AC Milan.

In 1965, he married Carla Elvira Dall'Oglio, and they had two children: Maria Elvira, better known as Marina (born 1966), and Pier Silvio (b. 1969).^{[citation needed]} By 1980, Berlusconi had established a relationship with the actress Veronica Lario (born Miriam Bartolini), with whom he subsequently had three children: Barbara (b. 1984), Eleonora (b. 1986) and Luigi (b. 1988). He was divorced from Dall'Oglio in 1985, and married Lario in 1990. By this time, Berlusconi was a well-known entrepreneur, and his wedding was a notable social event. One of his best men was former Prime Minister and leader of the Italian Socialist Party Bettino Craxi. In May 2009, Lario announced that she was to file for divorce.^[8]

Business career[link]

[edit] Milano Due

Berlusconi's business career began in construction early in the 1960s. After a couple of successful projects, in the late 1960s he carried out the construction of Milano Due, a huge residential project of about 10,500 apartments, which he eventually built in Segrate, an eastern suburb of Milan.

Telemilano[link]

Berlusconi first entered the media world in 1973 by setting up a small cable television company, 'Telemilano', to service units built on his Segrate properties. It began transmitting in September the following year. After buying two further channels, Berlusconi relocated the station to central Milan in 1977 and began broadcasting over the airwaves.^[9]

Fininvest[link]

In 1978 Berlusconi founded his first media group, Fininvest, and joined the Propaganda Due masonic lodge. In the five years leading up to 1983 he earned some 113 billion Italian liras (€58.3 million). The funding sources are still unknown because of the complex system of holding companies that makes them impossible to trace, despite investigations conducted by various state attorneys.

Fininvest soon expanded into a country-wide network of local TV stations which had similar programming, forming, in effect, a single national network. This was seen as breaching the Italian public broadcaster RAI's statutory monopoly on creating a national network which was later abolished. In 1980, Berlusconi founded Italy's first private national network, Canale 5, followed shortly thereafter by Italia 1 which was bought from the Rusconi family in 1982, and Rete 4, which was bought from Mondadori in 1984.^[10]

Berlusconi was assisted in his successful effort to create the first and only Italian commercial TV empire by his connections to Bettino Craxi, secretary-general of the Italian Socialist Party and also prime minister of Italy at that time, whose government passed, on 20 October 1984, an emergency decree legalising the nationwide transmissions made by Berlusconi's television stations.^[10] This was because, on 16 October 1984, judges in Turin, Pescara and Rome, enforcing a law which previously restricted nationwide broadcasting to RAI, had ordered these private networks to cease transmitting.

After some political turmoil in 1985 the decree was approved definitively. But for some years, Berlusconi's three channels remained in a legal limbo, and were not therefore allowed, for instance, to broadcast news and political commentary. They were elevated to the status of full national TV channels in 1990 by the so-called Mammì law.^{[citation needed]}

In 1995, Berlusconi sold a portion of his media holdings, first to the German media group Kirch Group (now bankrupted) and then by public offer. In 1999 Berlusconi expanded his media interests by forming a partnership with Kirch called the Epsilon MediaGroup.^[11]

On 9 July, a Milan court ordered Fininvest to pay 560 million euros in damages to Compagnie Industriali Riunite in a long-running legal dispute.^[12]

Political career[link]

From left to right: Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush and Silvio Berlusconi.

Berlusconi with Bush at the White House.

As he founded his Forza Italia party and entered politics, Berlusconi expressed his support for "freedom, the individual, family, enterprise, Italian tradition, Christian tradition and love for weaker people"^[13] and his intention to combat fiscal, judicial and bureaucratic oppression of Italians. The political family of the European People's Party was joined by Forza Italia in 1999 and by the People of Freedom in 2009.^[14] Some allies of Berlusconi, especially the Lega Nord, push for controls on immigration. Berlusconi himself has shown some reluctance to pursue such policies as strongly as his allies might like.^[15] A number of measures have been taken, with mixed results. The government, after introducing a controversial immigration law (the "Bossi-Fini" law, from the names of the Lega Nord and National Alliance leaders, as first authors of the text) is seeking the cooperation of European and other Mediterranean countries in reducing the large number of immigrants trying to reach Italian coasts on old and overloaded ferries and fishing boats, risking (and, often, losing) their lives.

On 8 November 2011, after losing his majority and public support, Berlusconi announced he would resign once parliament passed economic reforms.^[16] Many believed that the problems and doubts over Berlusconi's leadership and his coalition were one of the factors that contributed to market anxieties over an imminent Italian financial disaster, which could have a potentially catastrophic effect on the 17-nation eurozone and the world economy.^[17] On 12 November 2011, after a final meeting with his cabinet, Berlusconi met Italian president Giorgio Napolitano at the Palazzo del Quirinale to tend his resignation.^[18] Following Berlusconi's resignation, Mario Monti formed a new government that would remain in office until the next scheduled elections in 2013.^[19][20] On 16 November, Monti announced that he had formed a Cabinet and was officially sworn in as Prime Minister of Italy, also appointing himself as Minister of Economy and Finance.^[21]

Legal problems[link]

Allegations[link]

Silvio Berlusconi has an extensive record of criminal allegations, including mafia collusion, false accounting, tax fraud, corruption and bribery of police officers and judges. Berlusconi has been tried in Italian courts in several cases. In three of these cases accusations were dropped by the judiciary because of laws passed by Berlusconi's parliamentary majority shortening the time limit for prosecution of various offences and making false accounting illegal only if there is a specific damaged party reporting the fact to the authorities.^[22][23] In all of them, but one, either he was acquitted by a court of first instance or on appeal, or charges were dropped because the statute of limitations had expired. Therefore he has not been sentenced up to now, despite having been found guilty of providing false testimony in 1990.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} Berlusconi claimed that "this is a manifest judicial persecution, against which I am proud to resist, and the fact that my resistance and sacrifice will give the Italians a more fair and efficient judicial system makes me even more proud",^[29] and added that "789 prosecutors and magistrates took an interest in the politician Berlusconi from 1994 to 2006 with the aim of subverting the votes of the Italian people" citing statistics that he said have constituted a "calvary including 577 visits by police, 2,500 court hearings and 174 million euros in lawyers' bills paid by me".^[30][31] Berlusconi has always been able to afford top lawyers and publicists, for example Nicolas Sarkozy was one of his French top defenders.^[32][33][34] Some of his former prosecutors later joined the parliamentary opposition. Some of his attorneys are also members of parliament.

False testimony[link]

Receipt for membership of Silvio Berlusconi to "Propaganda 2" (P2) masonic lodge

In 1981, a scandal arose after the police discovery of Licio Gelli's secret quasi-Masonic lodge Propaganda 2 (P2), which aimed to change the Italian political system to a more authoritarian regime. The list of people involved in P2 included members of the secret services and some prominent characters from political arena, business, military and media. Silvio Berlusconi, who was then just starting to gain popularity as the founder and owner of "Canale 5" TV channel, was listed as a member of P2.^[35][36] The P2 lodge was dissolved by the Italian Parliament in December 1981 and a law was passed declaring similar organisations illegal, but no specific crimes were alleged against individual members of the P2 lodge. While the Italian Constitution had forbidden secret associations since 1948, no penal law provision had ever been passed by Parliament to enact that, and in the Italian legal system an action cannot be a crime if no law declaring that action a crime was in force when the action was committed. Thus, members of the P2 were members of anti-Constitutional and yet not illegal per se association.

Berlusconi later (in 1989) sued three journalists for libel for writing articles hinting at his involvement in financial crimes. In court, he declared that he had joined the P2 lodge "only for a very short time before the scandal broke" and "he had not even paid the entry fee". Such statements conflicted with the findings of the parliamentary inquiry commission appointed to investigate the lodge's activity, with material evidence, and even with previous testimony of Berlusconi, all of which proved that he had actually been a member of P2 since 1978 and had indeed paid 100,000 Italian liras (approximately equivalent to 300 euros today) as an entry fee. In 1990 the court of appeal of Venice found Berlusconi guilty of false testimony in front of the Court of Verona, however the court could not pass sentence as the offense had been pardoned by an amnesty passed in 1989.^[37]

Some political commentators claim that Berlusconi's electoral programme followed the P2 plan.^[38]

Jowell controversy/David Mills bribery case[link]

David Mills, lawyer husband of the former British cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, acted for Berlusconi in the early 1990s, and was later accused by Italian prosecutors of money laundering and of accepting a gift from Berlusconi in return for witness evidence favourable to Berlusconi given in court. Mills claimed that the money in question came not from Berlusconi but from another client. Tessa Jowell then announced her separation from Mills, which some of the UK media suggested was an attempt to distance herself from a potential scandal. She also denied having discussed the money with her husband; Private Eye magazine published a satirical front cover of Jowell with a speech bubble stating: "I have never met my husband". In December 2010, information obtained by the Wikileaks website revealed Mr Berlusconi had become very fond of Ms Jowell, referring to her in private company as 'piccolo puntaspilli' (the little pincushion).^{[citation needed]}

On 17 February 2009, Mills was found guilty of accepting a bribe of about 400,000 pounds sterling, allegedly from Silvio Berlusconi, and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.^[39] On 25 February 2010, the Court of Cassation gave a verdict of not guilty because the statute of limitations expired.^[40][41] The supreme court judges ruled that he received the money in 1999, and not 2000 as prosecutors had previously argued. He was ordered to pay €250,000 compensation to the office of the Italian prime minister for "damaging its reputation".^[42]

Soliciting minors for sex[link]

In February 2011, Berlusconi was charged with having sex with nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug between February and May 2010 when she was under the age of 18.^[43][44] He was also charged with abusing his political powers in an attempt to cover up the relationship (by trying to persuade the police to release the girl while she was under arrest for theft, based on a false claim that she was the granddaughter of Hosni Mubarak).^[43]

Abuse of office[link]

In February 2012, Milan prosecutors brought charges against Berlusconi for alleged abuse of office connected with the publication of confidential wiretaps by the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, which is owned by Berlusconi's brother, in 2005.^[45][46] The publication of the conversations between then Governor of the Bank of Italy Antonio Fazio, senior management of Unipol and Italian centre-left politician Piero Fassino was a breach of secrecy rules and was seen at the time as an attempt to discredit Berlusconi's political rivals. Their publication also eventually led to the collapse of the proposed takeover of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro by Unipol and the resignation of Fazio.^[45] The head of the company used by Italian prosecutors to record the conversations has been previously convicted of stealing the recordings and making them available to Berlusconi.^[46] On 7 February 2012, at an initial court hearing, Berlusconi denied he had listened to the tapes and ordered their publication.^[46]

Personal fortune[link]

In 2012, Forbes magazine reported that Berlusconi was Italy's sixth richest man, with a net worth of $5.9 billion. He holds significant assets in television, newspapers, publishing, cinema, finance, banking, insurance, and sport.^[47] Berlusconi's main company, Mediaset, comprises three national television channels covering half of the national television sector; and Publitalia, the leading Italian advertising and publicity agency. Berlusconi also owns a controlling stake in Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, the largest Italian publishing house, whose publications include Panorama, one of the country's most popular news magazines. His brother, Paolo Berlusconi, owns and operates il Giornale, a centre-right wing newspaper which provides a pro-Berlusconi slant on Italian politics. Il Foglio, one of the most influential Italian right-wing newspapers, is partially owned by his wife, Veronica Lario. After Lario sold some of her ownership in 2010, Paolo Berlusconi acquired a majority interest in the newspaper. Berlusconi is also the founder and major shareholder of Fininvest, which is among the largest private companies in Italy^[48] and operates in media and finance. With Ennio Doris he founded Mediolanum, one of the country's biggest banking and insurance groups. He has interests in cinema and home video distribution (Medusa Film and Penta Film). He is also the owner of the football club A.C. Milan which along with Boca Juniors has won the most FIFA recognized international club titles in the world. After his resignation as prime minister of Italy, he announced that he will return as president of A.C. Milan in 2012.^[49]

See also[link]

• Controversies surrounding Silvio Berlusconi
• Forbes list of billionaires (2011)

References[link]

Documentaries[link]

• "Citizen Berlusconi – The Prime Minister and the Press", 2003
• Viva Zapatero!, directed by Sabina Guzzanti, 2005
• "Quando c'era Silvio", documentary film directed by Beppe Cremagnani e Enrico Deaglio, 2005.

Feature films[link]

• Draquila - L'Italia che trema (directed by Sabina Guzzanti, Cannes Film Festival, 2010)
• Videocracy (directed by Erik Gandini, 2009) "Videocracy / ATMO independent film- and TV productions". http://www.atmo.se/film-and-tv/videocracy/. Retrieved 12 November 2009. 
• "Bye Bye Berlusconi!/Buonanotte Topolino"
• Il Caimano (directed by Nanni Moretti, 2006)
• Shooting Silvio (directed by Berardo Carboni)
• Citizen Berlusconi (directed by Andrea Cairola and Susan Gray)

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Silvio Berlusconi

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Silvio Berlusconi

• Official website
• Profile: Silvio Berlusconi, BBC
• A chronology of Berlusconi's life from Ketupa.net
• Berlusconi cuts stake in television company, IFEX
• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People
• BBC News Europe: Berlusconi in his own words
• Berlusconi to lobby EU on behalf of Russian travellers video on RussiaToday
• Silvio Berlusconi; A Complex Character
• (Italian) Progetto Politica: le 10 domande di Repubblica a Berlusconi
• (English) (Italian) Forza Italia, Berlusconi's political movement; click on International for an English version.
• (English) "EN" (Italian) A popular paper spread among the members of the European Parliament about Berlusconi's life chronology, mysteries and trials. By Marco Travaglio and Peter Gomez.

Silvio Berlusconi v t e Prime Ministers of Italy Kingdom of Italy Cavour · Ricasoli · Rattazzi · Farini · Minghetti · La Marmora · Ricasoli · Rattazzi · Menabrea · Lanza · Minghetti · Depretis · Cairoli · Depretis · Cairoli · Depretis · Crispi · Starabba · Giolitti · Crispi · Starabba · Pelloux · Saracco · Zanardelli · Giolitti · Tittoni · Fortis · Sonnino · Giolitti · Sonnino · Luzzatti · Giolitti · Salandra · Boselli · Orlando · Nitti · Giolitti · Bonomi · Facta · Mussolini · Badoglio · Bonomi · Parri · De Gasperi Italian Republic De Gasperi · Pella · Fanfani · Scelba · Segni · Zoli · Fanfani · Segni · Tambroni · Fanfani · Leone · Moro · Leone · Rumor · Colombo · Andreotti · Rumor · Moro · Andreotti · Cossiga · Forlani · Spadolini · Fanfani · Craxi · Fanfani · Goria · De Mita · Andreotti · Amato · Ciampi · Berlusconi · Dini · Prodi · D'Alema · Amato · Berlusconi · Prodi · Berlusconi · Monti v t e Italian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Italy Cavour · Ricasoli · Rattazzi · Pasolini · Visconti-Venosta · La Marmora · Visconti-Venosta · Campello · Menabrea · Visconti-Venosta · Melefari · Depretis · Corti · Cairoli · Depretis · Cairoli · Mancini · Depretis · Robilant · Depretis · Crispi · Starabba di Rudinì · Brin · De Blanc · Caetani · Capelli · Canevaro · Visconti-Venosta · Prinetti · Tittoni · Paternò-Castello · Guicciardini · Tittoni · Guicciardini · Paternò-Castello · Barone Sidney Sonnino · Tittoni · Scialoja · Sforza · Tommasi della Torretta · Schanzer · Mussolini · Grandi · Mussolini · Ciano · Mussolini · Guariglia · Badoglio · Bonomi · De Gasperi Italian Republic De Gasperi · Nenni · Sforza · De Gasperi · Pella · Piccioni · Martino · Pella · Fanfani · Pella · Segni · Fanfani · Piccioni · Saragat · Moro · Fanfani · Moro · Fanfani · Medici · Nenni · Moro · Medici · Moro · Rumor · Forlani · Malfatti · Ruffini · Colombo · Andreotti · De Michelis · Scotti · Colombo · Andreatta · Elia · Martino · Agnelli · Dini · Ruggiero · Berlusconi · Frattini · Fini · D'Alema · Frattini · Terzi di Sant'Agata v t e Berlusconi I Cabinet (1994 – 1995) Berlusconi | Tatarella | Maroni | Comino | Guidi | Urbani | Berlinguer | Ferrara | Speroni | Martino | Biondi | Pagliarini | Tremonti | Dini | Previti | D'Onofrio | Radice | Poli Bortone | Fiori | Tatarella | Gnutti | Costa | Bernini | Mastella | Fisichella | Matteoli | Podestà  v t e Berlusconi II Cabinet (2001–2005) Berlusconi | Fini | Follini | La Loggia | Pisanu | Scajola | Frattini | Mazzella | Baccini | Stanca | Tremaglia | Prestigiacomo | Buttiglione | Bossi | Calderoli | Giovanardi | Ruggiero | Castelli | Tremonti | Siniscalco | Marzano | Moratti | Maroni | Martino | Alemanno | Lunardi | Sirchia | Urbani | Gasparri | Matteoli  v t e Berlusconi III Cabinet (2005–2006) Berlusconi | Fini | Tremonti | La Loggia | Caldoro | Baccini | Stanca | Tremaglia | Prestigiacomo | La Malfa | Calderoli | Giovanardi | Micciché | Pisanu | Castelli | Siniscalco | Scajola | Moratti | Maroni | Martino | Alemanno | Matteoli | Lunardi | Storace | Buttiglione | Landolfi  v t e Berlusconi IV Cabinet (2008–2011) Berlusconi | Tremonti | Maroni | Alfano | Palma | Frattini | Sacconi | Fazio | Gelmini | La Russa | Scajola | Romani | Zaia | Romano | Prestigiacomo | Matteoli | Bondi | Galan | Bossi | Ronchi | Bernini | Vito | Brunetta | Calderoli | Fitto | Meloni | Carfagna | Rotondi | Brambilla | Brancher  v t e Presidents of the European Council President-in-Office (1975–2009) Liam Cosgrave · Aldo Moro · Gaston Thorn · Joop den Uyl · James Callaghan · Leo Tindemans · Anker Jørgensen · Helmut Schmidt · Valéry Giscard d'Estaing · Jack Lynch · Francesco Cossiga · Charles Haughey · Pierre Werner · Dries van Agt · Margaret Thatcher · Wilfried Martens · Anker Jørgensen · Poul Schlüter · Helmut Kohl · Andreas Papandreou · François Mitterrand · Garret FitzGerald · Bettino Craxi · Jacques Santer · Ruud Lubbers · Margaret Thatcher · Wilfried Martens · Poul Schlüter · Helmut Kohl · Andreas Papandreou · Felipe González · François Mitterrand · Charles Haughey · Giulio Andreotti · Jacques Santer · Ruud Lubbers · Poul Schlüter · Aníbal Cavaco Silva · John Major · Poul Nyrup Rasmussen · Jean-Luc Dehaene · Andreas Papandreou · Helmut Kohl · Jacques Chirac · Felipe González · Lamberto Dini · Romano Prodi · John Bruton · Wim Kok · Jean-Claude Juncker · Tony Blair · Viktor Klima · Gerhard Schröder · Paavo Lipponen · António Guterres · Jacques Chirac · Göran Persson · Guy Verhofstadt · José María Aznar López · Anders Fogh Rasmussen · Costas Simitis · Silvio Berlusconi · Bertie Ahern · Jan Peter Balkenende · Jean-Claude Juncker · Tony Blair · Wolfgang Schüssel · Matti Vanhanen · Angela Merkel · José Sócrates · Janez Janša · Nicolas Sarkozy · Mirek Topolánek · Jan Fischer · Fredrik Reinfeldt Permanent President (since 2009) Herman Van Rompuy