Silvio Berlusconi in pictures

The future prime minister began his career selling vacuum cleaners before going on to building a reputation as a singer in nightclubs and on cruise ships. Photograph: Olycom SPA/Rex Features

Berlusconi the family man, with daughters Barbara and Eleonora – two of his five children from two marriages – in his villa near Milan in 1994. He married Carla Elvira Dall'Oglio in 1965, divorcing in 1985, and met second wife Veronica Lario after seeing her perform topless in a play. Photograph: Franco Origlia/Corbis Sygma

Berlusconi's hospitality to Tony and Cherie Blair in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in August of 2004 caused problems for the UK prime minister later in his term of office. Photograph: Davide Caglio/EPA

Berlusconi with his then wife Veronica in 1990. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP

Veronica Lario, Berlusconi's long-suffering wife, filed for divorce in May 2009. "I cannot be his babysitter, and I cannot stop him any more from making himself ridiculous in front of the world," she said. "I'm done." Photograph: Luca Turi/EPA

Berlusconi met Russian leader Vladimir Putin on a number of occasions while he was prime minister of Italy. Here the pair enjoy an informal outdoor dinner at the Zavidovo, Putin's residence northwest of Moscow, Russia. in February 2003. Photograph: Itar-Tass/AP

Berlusconi's reputation for admiring women appears to be confirmed as he eyes up Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, during the G20 Summit in Cannes in November 2011. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters

Berlusconi attempts a high five with José Maria Aznar, then prime minister of Spain, at the beginning of a European Council meeting in Copenhagen in December 2002. Photograph: Jens Noergaard Larsen/AP

Berlusconi with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during a meeting in Benghazi in August 2008. Photograph: Reuters

Berlusconi whispers to Nicolas Sarkozy, at the time the French president, as German chancellor Angela Merkel smirks, during at a meeting at the Élysée Palace in October 2008. Photograph: Philippe Wojazer/Reuters

Between the start of Berlusconi's third term as prime minister in 2008 and his resignation in 2011, he endured 50 votes of confidence. Photograph: .

Berlusconi lost two elections to his rival Romano Prodi, left, first in 1996 and later in 2006. Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

Berlusconi is supported at the podium by his personal doctor Umberto Scapagnini, far left, after collapsing during an emotional speech to political supporters in November 2006. Photograph: Fabrizio Giovannozzi/AP

In May 2008 Berlusconi is elected as Italy's prime minister for a third time since he first stood for parliament in 1994. Photograph: Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis

Berlusconi finally admitted he had undergone plastic surgery in January 2004. "I only had my eyelids retouched slightly," he told a press conference. But by 2011 his appearance had undergone a dramatic transformation. Photograph: .

It was also clear that something had happened to his hair, which had regrown over the bald spot on the back of his head. Photograph: .

While signing autographs after a political rally in Milan in 2009, Berlusconi was attacked by a man who hurled a souvenir statue of Milan's cathedral at his face. The politician suffered a broken nose and two broken teeth and later needed surgery to repair the damage. Photograph: .

In February 2011 Berlusconi's alleged use of prostitutes came to a head when an Italian judge ordered him to stand trial on charges of paying for sex with an underaged girl called Karima el-Mahroug. Photograph: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Berlusconi resigned for the last time on 12 November 2011 after losing his parliamentary majority. Photograph: Christophe Karaba/EPA