David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, Dies at 65

David Sassoli, the president of the European Parliament, died on Tuesday in Italy, his spokesman and the parliament’s office in Washington said. He was 65.

The office said in a post on Twitter that Mr. Sassoli had died in the Italian town of Aviano.

No cause of death was immediately available. But he was hospitalized with severe pneumonia during a plenary session of the Parliament in September and later returned to Italy to recover, The Associated Press reported.

Mr. Sassoli was hospitalized again on Dec. 26 because his immune system was not functioning normally, Mr. Sassoli’s spokesman, Roberto Cuillo, said on Monday on social media.

Mr. Sassoli led the European Parliament, which approves or rejects legislation, establishes budgets and supervises a variety of institutions within the European Union. Its 700-plus members serve five-year terms; the next election wis in 2024.

The Parliament also plays a crucial role in selecting the president of the European Commission, whose members are appointed by national governments.

The commission’s current president, Ursula von der Leyen, addressed Mr. Sassoli’s illness in a Twitter post on Monday night.

“Dear David, my thoughts are with you as you fight for your health,” she wrote. “I wish you a speedy and full recovery. Bon courage, as you often say.”