Sonya Gandhi Indian politician of Italian origin, leader of the Indian National Congress, widow of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi Date of Birth: 09.12.1946 Country: India

1. Biography of Sonia Gandhi
2. Early Life and Education
3. Marriage and Family
4. Entry into Politics
5. Political Career
6. Leader of the Opposition and Congress Party

Biography of Sonia Gandhi

Sonia Gandhi is an Indian politician of Italian origin and the leader of the Indian National Congress. She is also the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi.

Early Life and Education

Sonia was born as Sonia Antonia Maino to parents Antonio and Paola Maino. Her father, who had great respect for Russian history and culture, named all three of his daughters with Russian names. Sonia grew up in the small town of Orbassano, located 20 kilometers from Turin, Italy. She was raised in a Catholic family and attended a Catholic school. Her father passed away in 1983, but her mother and two sisters still reside near Orbassano.

Marriage and Family

During a course in English language in Cambridge in 1965, Sonia met her future husband, Rajiv Gandhi, who was studying at the University of Cambridge. They had a modest wedding ceremony in 1968 in New Delhi, after which Sonia moved to live with her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, who served as the Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 to 1984. Sonia and Rajiv had two children - a son named Rahul in 1970 and a daughter named Priyanka in 1971. Indira Gandhi saw her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, as her successor.

Entry into Politics

Rajiv Gandhi initially stayed away from politics and worked as a pilot for Air India. However, after the tragic death of Sanjay Gandhi in an airplane crash in 1980, Rajiv became actively involved in politics. In 1984, after the assassination of his mother, Rajiv Gandhi took over as the Prime Minister. During Rajiv's tenure as the Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989, Sonia Gandhi, as the "first lady," had to engage in public activities.

Political Career

After the assassination of her husband by a Tamil terrorist on May 21, 1991, some members of the Congress Party urged Sonia to enter politics, mainly because of her association with the Gandhi family. However, Sonia Gandhi declined and stayed away from politics for the next six years. Narsimha Rao became the leader of the party after her refusal. In 1998, she finally decided to embark on a political career. Her political opponents constantly accused her of not being born in India, renouncing Indian citizenship 15 years after her marriage (Sonia Gandhi obtained Indian citizenship in 1983), and having a poor knowledge of Hindi.

Leader of the Opposition and Congress Party

In 1999, Sonia Gandhi was elected as the leader of the opposition in the 13th Lok Sabha, and in the 2004 elections, she launched an aggressive campaign to overthrow the National Democratic Alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister. After the sensational victory of the Indian National Congress in the elections, she became the main candidate for the role of Prime Minister. However, due to a widespread campaign against a foreigner coming to power led by her political rivals, she declined the position to "preserve the unity of the nation." Eventually, Manmohan Singh, whose candidacy was proposed by Sonia Gandhi, became the Prime Minister.