Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Former Italian Prime Minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi has emerged as an unlikely kingmaker in Italy's general elections in March 2018. Affectionately known as "Il Cavaliere" (The Knight), Berlusconi was expelled from the Italian Parliament in 2013 and is currently barred from public office after convictions for bribery and tax fraud. He's pictured here in 2009. Hide Caption 1 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi shares a moment with President George W. Bush during an arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn in October 2008. Hide Caption 2 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Libya's Moammar Gadhafi attends a meeting with Berlusconi in Rome in June 2009. The Libyan leader was killed in 2011 after being captured by rebel forces in his hometown. Hide Caption 3 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcome Berlusconi to a G20 dinner in Pittsburgh in September 2009. Hide Caption 4 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi waves to journalists as he leaves a Milan hospital in December 2009 after suffering severe facial wounds in an attack at a rally. Hide Caption 5 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Russia's Vladimir Putin joins Berlusconi for a press conference in Lesmo, Italy, in April 2010. Hide Caption 6 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi listens during a debate in the Italian Senate in December 2010. Hide Caption 7 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi reacts during the presentation of Antonio Razzi's book "My Clean Hands" at the Italian Parliament in February 2012. Hide Caption 8 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi visits Villa Madama in Rome in January 2011. Hide Caption 9 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi arrives at the German Chancellery in Berlin to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel in January 2011. Hide Caption 10 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi passes by Carabinieri guards before a meeting with Russia's President at Villa Madama in February 2011. Hide Caption 11 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi, then owner of the Italian soccer club AC Milan, celebrates with the players after the team won the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy in August 2011. The trophy is in honor of Berlusconi's father. Hide Caption 12 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi, right, at the dedication ceremony at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas in April 2013. Hide Caption 13 of 15

Photos: Photos: 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi 'Il Cavaliere' Silvio Berlusconi – Berlusconi in the Italian Senate in October 2013, a month before he was expelled from Parliament after his conviction for tax fraud. Hide Caption 14 of 15