Silvio Berlusconi was born on September 29, 1936 and has been in charge as Prime Minister in Italy for a total of 9 years (from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011). His nickname is Il Cavaliere (The Knight) because he was awarded the Order of Merit for Labour, which is an Italian order of chivalry awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and commerce, crafts, lending and insurance.