ISTANBUL

David Sassoli, president of the European Parliament, died early Tuesday morning. He was 65.

“The @EP_President David Sassoli passed away at 1.15 am on 11 January at the CRO in Aviano (PN), Italy, where he was hospitalized,” his spokesman Roberto Cuillo said in a tweet.

“The date and place of the funeral will be communicated in the next few hours,” Cuillo added.

Sassoli was hospitalized on Dec. 26 in Italy, his office said on Monday, because of “a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system."

In September last year, he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia, and was unable to chair the plenary sessions and attend high-level meetings for weeks.​​​​​​​

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu offered his condolences to Sassoli’s family and the European Parliament.

“I have learned with great sorrow the passing away of @EP_President David Sassoli. I convey my condolences to his bereaved family and @Europarl_EN. May he rest in peace,” Cavusoglu said on Twitter.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also offered her condolences.

“David Sassoli was a compassionate journalist, an outstanding President of the European Parliament and, first & foremost, a dear friend. My thoughts are with his family,” Von der Leyen said on Twitter. Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.