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Lega Nord Founder Umberto Bossi Dies at 84

Tributes from Italy's leadership highlight his reshaping of the right from regional secessionism to national power.

Overview

  • He died in Varese after admission to intensive cardiological care, according to Italian media reports.
  • He founded a Lombard autonomist movement in the 1980s that became Lega Nord and later served in government as a close ally of Silvio Berlusconi.
  • A major stroke in 2004 diminished his public role, followed by a 2012 corruption case that forced his resignation and produced a conviction later annulled.
  • Matteo Salvini took leadership in 2013, rebranding the party as the League to broaden its reach, and vowed to continue the course Bossi set.
  • Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella praised his influence on the Italian right, as the League remains in the ruling coalition.