By: Tricia Desroches

The European Parliament is mourning the loss of its president. EU Parliament President David Sassoli passed away on January 11, 2022. He died at the age of 65. He died in a hospital in Italy. Many of his peers have expressed how his joyful attitude and his smile will be remembered. 

David Maria Sassoli was an Italian journalist. He was born on May 30, 1956, in Florence, Italy. He became a member of the European Parliament in 2009. In 2014, he was elected vice president of the European Parliament. He then became the European Parliament President on July 3, 2019. On December 26, 2021, he was hospitalized for problems with his immune system. 

His health had been acting up for months before he was hospitalized.  In September of 2021, he had pneumonia. Due to that, he would sometimes miss important meetings. Despite the obstacles, he tried his best to be at work. Before entering politics, he was a newspaper journalist. After that, he joined the Democratic Party, but he considers himself a Socialist. 
He announced that he wouldn’t be serving a second term. In December of 2021, is when he was seeing his final days. His health was just getting worse day by day. Sassoli left behind his wife  Alessandra Vittorini and two children, Livia Sassoli and Giulio Sassoli. He will always be remembered for always being upbeat and always having a positive attitude.