Sonia Gandhi
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| Sonia Gandhi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Chairperson of the National Advisory Council | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 29 March 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Position reestablished |
| In office 4 June 2004 – 23 March 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 16 May 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| President of the Indian National Congress | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 14 March 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Sitaram Kesri |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 19 March 1998 – 22 May 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Sharad Pawar |
| Succeeded by | L. K. Advani |
| Member of Parliament for Rae Bareli | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 17 May 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Satish Sharma |
| Member of Parliament for Amethi | |
| In office 10 October 1999 – 17 May 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Sanjay Singh |
| Succeeded by | Rahul Gandhi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edvige Antonia Albina Maino 9 December 1946 Lusiana, Italy |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Other political affiliations | United Front (1996–2004) United Progressive Alliance(2004–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Rajiv Gandhi (1969–1991) |
| Children | Rahul Priyanka |
| Residence | 10 Janpath, New Delhi |
Sonia Gandhi (born Edvige Antonia Albina Maino;[1][2] 9 December 1946)[3][4] is an Italian-born Indian politician, who has served as President of the Indian National Congress party since 1998. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi and belongs to the Nehru–Gandhi family. After her husband's assassination in 1991, she was invited by Congress leaders to take over the government; but she refused and publicly stayed away from politics amidst constant prodding from the party. She finally agreed to join politics in 1997; in 1998, she was elected as President of the Congress.
She has served as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha since 2004. In September 2010, on being re-elected for the fourth time, she became the longest serving president in the 125-year history of the Congress party.[5] Her foreign birth has been a subject of much debate and controversy.[6][7][8] Although Sonia is the fifth foreign-born person to be leader of the Congress Party, she is the first since independence in 1947.[9]
Early life
She was born to Stefano and Paola Maino in Contrada Màini ("Maini quarter/district"), at Lusiana,[10][11] a little village 30 km from Vicenza in Veneto,[12] Italy, where families with the family name "Màino" have been living for many generations.[13][14][15]She spent her adolescence in Orbassano,[16] a town near Turin, being raised in a traditional Roman Catholic family and attending a Catholic school. Her father, a building mason, died in 1983.[17] Her mother and two sisters still live around Orbassano.[18]
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 (the Varsity Restaurant) while working there as a waitress to make ends meet.[19][20] 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.[21]
The couple had two children, Rahul Gandhi (born 1970) and Priyanka Vadra (born 1972). Despite belonging to the influentialNehru family, Sonia and Rajiv avoided all involvement in politics. Rajiv worked as an airline pilot while Sonia took care of her family.[22] 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.[23]
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