European Parliament President David Sassoli died on Tuesday at the age of 65 in Italy, his office announced early on Tuesday morning.
"The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, passed away at 1.15 a.m. on January 11 at the hospital in Aviano, Italy, where he was hospitalized," his spokesman, Roberto Cuillo said on Twitter.
On 10 December, Sassoli was hospitalised in Italy due to severe complications associated with a dysfunction of the immune system. All events in which the head of the European Parliament had been scheduled to participate have been cancelled.
David Sassoli had been president of the 705-seat European Parliament since 2019.
In December, 65-year-old Sassoli, a former journalist from the Italian Democratic Party, announced that he would not run for re-election as EP speaker, so as, he explained, "not to split the European majority". His term of office expired in January.
It is the first time in the history of the European Parliament that an incumbent president has died.
According to the internal regulations of the European Parliament, the first vice-president must act as president until the election of a successor.