Bettino Craxi was born in Milan to a Sicilian lawyer father from a socialist family. He dropped out of university to focus on politics, joining the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) at a young age and becoming a member of the Milan regional executive committee by age 18. He rose through the ranks via organization and contacts, becoming PSI secretary in 1976. As the first PSI leader to serve as prime minister, Craxi governed Italy from 1983 to 1987, implementing anti-inflationary fiscal policies, pursuing a pro-American foreign policy, and shifting the PSI toward modern 'Third Way' politics that appealed to middle-class entrepreneurs during Italy's economic miracle. His tenure ended amid coalition issues, but he remained influential until the early 1990s Mani Pulite (Clean Hands) investigations exposed widespread corruption in Italian politics, known as Tangentopoli. He was convicted multiple times on charges including bribery and illegal party financing, with sentences totaling over 27 years, though he served none due to fleeing to Tunisia in 1994 where he lived in Hammamet until his death from diabetes complications. Critics accused him of embodying the corrupt system of the First Republic, with allegations of mafia ties and massive illicit funds, though supporters viewed him as a scapegoat in judicial overreach.