Sonia Gandhi
Chairperson of the United Progressive
Assumed office 2004
President of Indian National CongressIncumbent
Assumed office 1998
Member of the Lok Sabha for Rae Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
Incumbent
Assumed office 2006In office 2004 – 23 March 2006
Leader of the Opposition
In office 19 March 1998 – 22 May 2004
Succeeded by Lal Krishna Advani
Member of the Lok Sabha for Bellary, Karnataka and Amethi, Uttar Pradesh
In office1999 – 2004
Born :- 9 December 1946 (age 62) Lusiana, Veneto, Italy
Citizenship :- Indian
Political party :- Indian National Congress
Spouse(s) :- Rajiv Gandhi (1969-1991)
Children :- Rahul Gandhi Priyanka Gandh
Residence :- 10 Janpath, New Delhi, India
Religion :- Roman Catholic
Sonia Gandhi born Edvige Antonia Albino Maino[1] in Lusiana, Italy on 9 December, 1946 is the Italian-born President of the Indian National Congress and the widow of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi. She also serves as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha and the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party.
An influential person in Indian politics, she was named the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in the year 2004[2] and was ranked 6th in 2007.[3] She was also named among the Time 100 most influential people in the world for the years 2007[4] and 2008.[5]
Early life
Born to Stefano and Paola Maino in Lusiana, a little village 20 km from Vicenza in the region of Veneto, Italy, she spent her adolescence in Orbassano, a town near Turin being raised in a traditional Roman Catholic family and attending a Catholic school. Her father, a building contractor, died in 1983.[6] Her mother and two sisters still live around Orbassano.[7]
In 1964, she went to study English at The Bell Educational Trust’s language school in the city of Cambridge. She met Rajiv Gandhi, who was enrolled in Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, in 1965 at a Greek restaurant.[8] Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi married in 1968, following which she moved into the house of her mother-in-law and then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.[9]
The couple had two children, Rahul Gandhi (born 1970) and Priyanka Gandhi (born 1972). Despite belonging to the influential Nehru family, Sonia and Rajiv avoided all involvement in politics. Rajiv worked as an airline pilot while Sonia took care of her family.[10] When Indira was ousted from office in 1977 in the aftermath of the Indian Emergency, the Rajiv family moved abroad for a short time.[citation needed] When Rajiv entered politics in 1982 after the death of his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash on 23 June 1980, Sonia continued to focus on her family and avoided all contact with the public.[11]
