Sonia Gandhi Biography

Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and former President of the Indian National Congress party. She belongs to the third generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family. She was born as Edvige Antonia Albina Maino in Italy on 9 December, 1946. Sonia Gandhi is the widow of the former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

Sonia Gandhi Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More

She joined politics in 1997 amidst constant requests from Congress party members after the death of her husband Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991.

Childhood, and Family

Edvige Antonia Albina Maino was born on December 9, 1946, in a small village near Vicenza, Italy to Stefano and Paola Maino. She was raised in a traditional Roman Catholic Christian family. Sonia’s father, Stefano was a building Manson and established a small business in Orbassano. He also fought against the Soviet military alongside Hitler’s Wehrmacht on the eastern front in World War II.

Stefano Maino Sonia Gandhi’s Father

Paola Maino Sonia Gandhi’s Mother

Rajiv Gandhi Sonia Gandhi’s Husband

Rahul Gandhi Sonia Gandhi’s Son

Priyanka Gandhi Sonia Gandhi’s Daughter

Franco Luison Sonia Gandhi’s Boyfriend

Sonia Gandhi’s old Pics

Education

Sonia completed her schooling at the age of 13 and aspired to be a flight attendant. In the year 1964, she went to Bell Educational Trust’s language school in Cambridge to learn English after receiving primary education in local catholic schools.

Personal Life

In 1964, she met Rajiv Gandhi at the Varsity rooftop bar in Cambridge while working as a bar attender there. At that time, Rajiv Gandhi was an engineering student at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. In 1968, Sonia and Rajiv married in a Hindu ceremony and moved to India. She started living with her mother-in-law and the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi.

Political Career

In 1984, Sonia Gandhi stepped into politics when she campaigned for Rajiv Gandhi in Amethi against her sister-in-law Maneka Gandhi. After Rajiv Gandhi’s five years in office, the Bofors Scandal broke out. The Italian businessman, Ottavio Quattrocchi was involved as per several reports, and was believed to be a friend of Sonia Gandhi, who had the access to PM’s official residence.

In 1991, after the assassination of the then PM Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi refused to become PM, and P.V. Narasimha Rao was made the Prime Minister of India. In 1996, Congress lost the elections and several senior leaders left the Congress Party.

Sonia Gandhi joined the Congress Party in 1997 as a member of the Calcutta Plenary Session. She became the leader of the party in 1998.

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Awards and Accolades

In 2004, she was named the third most powerful woman in the world by ‘Forbes Magazine’. Two years later, Sonia Gandhi received a doctorate from Brussels University, and shortly after she was conferred with an honorary doctorate from the University of Madras (2008). In 2010, the British magazine, ‘New Statesmen’ listed her in the 29th position for ‘The World’s 50 Most Influential Figures 2010’.

Net Worth

Sonia Gandhi declared her net worth of $2 billion. This is an almost six-fold increase since her declaration in the last election.

Sonia Gandhi – Wikipedia

She (born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician who is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independence history.

Also check: Priyanka Gandhi’s Biography