Former Italian Foreign Minister and EU Commissioner Franco Frattini is dead. He died in a hospital in Rome on Christmas Eve at the age of 65.

Frattini worked twice as foreign minister under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi - first from 2002 to 2004, then from 2008 to 2011. In between, the law graduate was EU Justice Commissioner from 2004 to 2008. Since the beginning of the year, Frattini has been President of the Council of State in Rome, one of the highest judicial bodies in the Italian Republic. According to media reports, he had been suffering from cancer for a long time.

Politicians of all stripes paid tribute to the native Roman as an important protagonist of Italian politics. He had "high reputation" in all his positions and was always valued by everyone, said President Sergio Mattarella. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called Frattini a "polite and intelligent man, servant of the institutions, my friend". Berlusconi wrote on Instagram: "I will always think of how he was able to handle complex problems with a smile, the comfort he felt in every role and the appreciation he exuded."