Silvio Berlusconi je bývalý viacnásobný premiér Talianska, zakladateľ a vodca politickej strany „Forza Italia“, zakladateľ a vodca strany „Ľud slobody“ .
Úrad premiéra Talianska zastával štyrikrát. Premiérom bol v rokoch 1994-1995, v rokoch 2001-2005, 2005-2006 a v rokoch 2008-2011.
Na kreslo premiéra zasadol prvýkrát v roku 1994, po marcových parlamentných voľbách. Jeho vláda sa však zrútila po siedmich mesiacoch, kvôli vnútorným sporom so stredopravicovou koalíciou. V roku 1996 znovu kandidoval na premiéra, no bol porazený opozičným kandidátom Romanom Prodim. V parlamentných voľbách roku 2001 kandidoval opäť, tentokrát úspešne.
V parlamentných voľbách 9. a 10. apríla 2006 ho tesne porazil opozičný kandidát Romano Prodi. Silvio Berlusconi potom 2. mája podal demisiu, ale vtedajší taliansky prezident Carlo Azeglio Ciampi ho požiadal aby ešte zastával úrad premiéra, kým sa nevyriešia vtedajšie udalosti. Jeho demisia vstúpila do platnosti 17. mája kedy ho oficiálne vystriedal Romano Prodi.
Berlusconi je najbohatší človek v Taliansku. Je zakladateľ a akcionár druhej najväčšej talianskej korporácie Fininvest a od roku 1986 je prezident prominentného talianskeho futbalového klubu, AC Miláno.
Wikipedia
“Mussolini never killed anyone, he just sent dissenters abroad for vacation.”
As quoted in La voce di Rimini (11 September 2003)
Variant translation: He never killed anyone, he sent people on holiday to confine them.
"Did I say This? in The Observer (20 April 2008) http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/apr/20/italy
2003
On public school, in Adoptions, gay couples and public school in la Repubblica (1 March 2011) http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2011/02/26/news/berlusconi_rafforza-12922793/index.html
2011
“Foreign press is usually leftist and describes us differently from what we really are.”
Speech to the association Azzurri nel mondo, Lugano (24 October 2004)
2004
Addressing the commander of the special italian police corp, Guardia di Finanza, whose job is to fight financial fraud and tax evasion in November of 2003, quoted in la Repubblica (17 febbraio 2004) http://www.repubblica.it/2004/b/sezioni/politica/cdlverifica2/candida/candida.html
2003
At a rally in Naples (28 March 2006) as quoted in "In quotes: Berlusconi in his own words" at BBC News (2 May 2006) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3041288.stm
2006
“By definition, as a Prime Minister I cannot be a liar.”
Italian Radio National Broadcast (18 January 2006)
2006
“Let's talk about football and women. … Gerhard, why don't you start?”
At the Brussels summit, turning to the four-times-married German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, at the end of Italy's EU presidency, in December 2003, as quoted in "In quotes: Berlusconi in his own words" at BBC News (2 May 2006) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3041288.stm
2003
“Barack Obama being young, handsome and sun-tanned is going to get along with you swimmingly.”
On the US president-elect to Dmitry Medvedev, as quoted in 'Italy's Berlusconi hails "suntanned" Obama' in Reuters (6 November 2008) http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE4A562120081106, "Berlusconi faces race row as he calls America's first black president 'suntanned'" in Mail on Sunday (6 November 2008) http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1083664/Berlusconi-faces-race-row-calls-Americas-black-president-suntanned.html
2008
As quoted in "Did I say This? in The Observer (20 April 2008)
2008
Denying the heaviness of the Italian crisis, during the news conference after the end of the G20 summit held in Cannes (3-4 November 2011), as reported in "Napolitano ammonisce: attuare impegni. Premier: la crisi non c'è, ristoranti pieni" in Il Messaggero (4 November 2011) http://www.ilmessaggero.it/articolo.php?id=168779&sez=HOME_INITALIA&ssez=POLITICA, and "Silvio Berlusconi shrugs off IMF's financial checks on Italy. Prime minister insists Italy is in good health, with debts under control, and points to full restaurants as proof of strength" in The Guardian (4 November 2011) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/04/silvio-berlusconi-imf-italy
2011
“I'm a man of honour, a truthful person, a gentleman of absolute morality.”
As quoted in "La Repubblica" (13 July 2003)
2003
['New Milan manager must play two strikers,' says Silvio Berlusconi http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jul/20/milan-silvio-berlusconi], July 20, 2010.
2010
On the TV program L'infedele, called in during the show, reported in Berlusconi insults Lerner live: you run a brothel program, in Repubblica (25 January 2011) http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2011/01/24/news/berlusconi_lerner-11616866/
2011
“The public prosecutor … should be subject to regular examinations to attest to sanity.”
Calling for psychiatric examinations in regard to the life sentence of the Mafia-member Vittorio Mangano, whom Senator Marcello Dell'Utri, called a hero, as reported in 'Berlusconi: "Perizie per i pm" Dell'Utri: "Mangano un eroe" 'in la Repubblica (8 April 2008) http://www.repubblica.it/2008/04/sezioni/politica/verso-elezioni-18/berlusconi-toghe/berlusconi-toghe.html
2007
“The left has always been on the wrong side. They were against Hitler, but not against Stalin.”
Quoted in la Repubblica (3 February 2005)
2005
Quoted in Corriere della Sera (17 January 2005)
2005
Speaking at his party's convention in Sardinia (28 January 2006), as reported in Il Giornale (29 January 2006)
Variant translation: I'll try not to let you down and I promise you two and a half months of complete sexual abstinence until election day.
As reported in "Did I say This? in The Observer (20 April 2008) http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/apr/20/italy
2006
As quoted in "Did I say This? in The Observer (20 April 2008)
2008
On Italy, as reported in "Italy on 'edge of abyss', says Silvio Berlusconi, offering a hand" in The Guardian (9 December 2012) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/09/italy-edge-abyss-silvio-berlusconi
2012
