Sonia Gandhi: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Infobox officeholder

| image = Sonia Gandhi 2014and (cropped)Vladimir Putin in March 2010 04.jpg

| caption = Gandhi in 2014

| signature = Signature of Sonia Gandhi.svg

| office = [[Indian National Congress|Parliamentary ChairpersonChair of the [[Indian National Congress]]

| term_start = 10October June 20241999

| term_end =

| predecessor = ''Herself''[[Sharad Pawar]]

| successor =

| office1 = [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha|Member of Parliament]], [[Rajya Sabha]]

| term_start1 = {{Start date|2024|04|03|df=yes}}

| term_end1 =

| constituency1 = [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan|Rajasthan]]

| predecessor1 = [[Manmohan Singh]]

| office2 = [[President of the Indian National Congress]]

| term_start2 = {{Start date|2019|08|10|df=yes}}

| term_end2 = {{End date|2022|10|26|df=yes}}

| predecessor2 = [[Rahul Gandhi]]

| successor2 = [[Mallikarjun Kharge]]

| term_start3 = {{Start date|1998|03|14|df=yes}}

| term_end3 = {{End date|2017|12|16|df=yes}}

| vicepresident3 = Rahul Gandhi (from 2013)

| predecessor3 = [[Sitaram Kesri]]

| successor3 = [[Rahul Gandhi]]

| office4 = [[Chairperson]] of the [[United Progressive Alliance]]

| term_start4 = {{Start date|2004|05|06|df=yes}}

| term_end4 = {{End date|2023|07|18|df=yes}}

| predecessor4 = Office''office established''

| successor4 = Office''office abolished''

| office5 = [[Chairperson]] of the [[National Advisory Council]]

| term_start5 = 29 March 2010

| term_end5 = 25 May 2014

| predecessor5 = Office''office established''

| successor5 = Office''office abolished''

| primeminister5 = [[Manmohan Singh]]

| term_start6 = 4 June 2004

| term_end6 = 23 March 2006

| predecessor6 = Office''office established''

| successor6 = Office''office abolished''

| primeminister6 = [[Manmohan Singh]]

| office7 = 10th [[Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha]]

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| predecessor7 = [[Sharad Pawar]]

| successor7 = [[L. K. Advani]]

| office8 = [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]], [[Lok Sabha]]

| term_start8 = 17 May 2004

| term_end8 = 2 April 2024

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| term_start9 = 10 October 1999

| term_end9 = 17 May 2004

| constituency9 = [[Amethi (Lok Sabha constituency)|Amethi]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]

| predecessor8 = [[Satish Sharma]]

| office10 = [[Spouse of the Prime Minister of India]]

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| predecessor10 = [[Gayatri Devi (Uttar Pradesh politician)|Gayatri Devi]]

| successor10 = Sita Kumari Singh

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|12|09|df=yes}}

| birth_place = [[Lusiana]], [[Veneto]], Italy

| party = [[Indian National Congress]]

| citizenship = Italy (1946–1983)<br />India (1983–present)

| relatives = See ''[[Nehru–Gandhi family]]''

| alma_mater = [[Bell Educational Trust]]

| spouse = {{marriage|[[Rajiv Gandhi]]|1968|1991|end=died}}

| children = {{ubl|[[Rahul Gandhi]] (son)|[[Priyanka Gandhi|Priyanka Gandhi Vadra]] (daughter)}}

| residence = [[1012, Janpath]]Tughlaq Lane, [[New Delhi]], [[Delhi]], India

| website =

| status2 = Interim

}}

'''Sonia Gandhi''' ({{IPA-|hi|ˈsoːnɪjaː ˈɡaːndʱiː|lang}}, {{IPA-|it|ˈsɔːnja ˈɡandi|lang}}; {{née|'''Maino'''}} {{IPA-|it|ˈmaino|}}; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She 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. She took over as the party leader in 1998, seven years after the [[assassination of Rajiv Gandhi]], her husband and a former [[List of prime ministers of India|Prime Minister of India]], and remained in office until 2017 after serving for twenty-two years.{{efn|Sources.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/sonia-gandhi-congress-president-rahul-gandhi-politics-4983911/|title=Sonia Gandhi retires as Congress president, to remain active in politics|work=[[The Indian Express]]|date=15 December 2017|access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/as-sonia-gandhi-makes-way-4984673/ |title=As Sonia Gandhi makes way|last=Chowdhary|first=Neerja|work=[[The Indian Express]]|date=16 December 2017|access-date=19 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://m.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sonia-gandhi-s-19-years-as-congress-president-from-husband-rajiv-s-death-to-son-rahul-s-elevation/story-nmW3hNiG2zDo6abGYc38YO.html |title=Sonia Gandhi's 19 years as Congress president: From husband Rajiv's death to son Rahul's elevation|last=Naqshbandi|first=Aurangzeb|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=16 December 2017|access-date=20 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Chandra|first=Rina|date=14 April 2009|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-election-gandhi/sonia-gandhi-keeps-congress-hopes-alive-in-india-polls-idUSTRE53D1XH20090414 |title=Sonia Gandhi keeps Congress hopes alive in India polls|work=Reuters|access-date=19 December 2017}}</ref>}} She returned to the post in 2019 and remained the President for another three years.

Born in a small village near [[Vicenza]], Italy, Gandhi was raised in a [[Roman Catholic]] family. After completing her primary education at local schools, she moved for language classes to [[Cambridge]], England, where she met [[Rajiv Gandhi]], and later married him in 1968. She then moved to India and started living with her mother-in-law, the then-[[Prime Minister of India]], [[Indira Gandhi]], at the latter's [[New Delhi]] residence. Sonia Gandhi, however, kept away from the [[public sphere]], even during the years of her husband's premiership.

Following her husband's assassination, Gandhi was invited by Congress leaders to lead the party, but she declined. She agreed to join politics in 1997 after much pleading from the party; the following year, she was nominated for [[List of Presidents of the Indian National Congress|party president]], and elected over [[Jitendra Prasada]].{{efn|Sources describing Gandhi's initial reluctance and eventual election.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/24/world/assassination-india-sonia-gandhi-declines-invitation-assume-husband-s-party-post.html|title=Assassination In India; Sonia Gandhi Declines Invitation To Assume Husband's Party Post|last=Weinraub|first=Bernard|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=24 May 1991|access-date=25 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/sonia-gandhi-re-elected-congress-president/301022|title=Sonia Gandhi re-elected Congress President|work=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]|date=25 March 2005|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref><ref name=elections.in>{{cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/political-leaders/sonia-gandhi.html|title=Sonia Gandhi Biography|publisher=Elections in India|access-date=24 May 2014}}</ref>}} Under her leadership, the Congress went on to form the government post the [[2004 Indian general elections|2004 elections]] in coalition with other centre-left political parties. Gandhi has since been credited for being instrumental in formulating the [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA), which was re-elected to power in [[2009 Indian general elections|2009]]. Gandhi declined the premiership following the 2004 victory; she instead led the ruling alliance and the [[National Advisory Council]].{{efn|Sources describing Gandhi's leadership of the UPA and declining the premiership.<ref name="BBC Profile 2014">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Profile: Sonia Gandhi |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26830531 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=16 May 2014 |access-date=21 May 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Fourth-time-in-a-row-Sonia-Gandhi-is-Congress-chief/articleshow/6487821.cms?referral=PM|title=Fourth time in a row, Sonia Gandhi is Congress chief|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=4 September 2010|access-date=25 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1652689_1652372_1652356,00.html|title=India's Most Influential|last=Robinson|first=Simon|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=25 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/2693501|title=Sonia: and yet so far|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=20 May 2004|access-date=25 November 2017}}</ref>}}

Over the course of her career, Gandhi presided over the advisory councils credited for the formation and subsequent implementation of such [[rights-based approach to development|rights-based development and welfare schemes]] as the [[Right to Information Act, 2005|Right to Information]], [[Food Security Bill]], and [[National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005|MGNREGA]], as she drew criticism related to the [[National Herald Case|''National Herald'' case]]. Her foreign birth has also been a subject of much debate and controversy.{{efn|Sources discussing the welfare schemes and controversies.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/movements-and-governments-sonia-gandhi-4983273/|title=Movements and governments|last=Roy|first=Aruna|work=[[The Indian Express]]|access-date=15 December 2017|date=15 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/end-of-the-longest-regency/299576|title=End of the longest regency|work=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]|date=4 December 2017|access-date=25 November 2017}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1020830/asp/nation/story_1151052.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020903223540/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1020830/asp/nation/story_1151052.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 September 2002|title=BJP sees Gujarat ammo in Sonia origins|date=30 August 2002|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2 February 2010|location=Calcutta, India|first=Radhika|last=Ramaseshan}}</ref>}} Gandhi's active participation in politics began to reduce during the latter half of the [[United Progressive Alliance|UPA government's]] second term owing to health concerns. She stepped down as the Congress president in December 2017 but returned to lead the party in August 2019. Although she has not held any [[List of office-holders in India|public office]] in the [[government of India]], Gandhi has been widely described as one of the most powerful politicians in the country, and is often listed among the most powerful women in the world.{{efn|Sources discussing the listing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/the-sonia-gandhi-years-and-what-rahul-gandhi-can-learn/articleshow/61062696.cms|title=The Sonia Gandhi years and what Rahul Gandhi can learn|last=Manoj|first=CL|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=25 November 2017|date=13 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/sonia-gandhi-health-mystery-sets-india-leadership-adrift|title=Sonia Gandhi Health Mystery Sets India Leadership Adrift|last=Riedel|first=Bruce|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|access-date=25 November 2017|date=24 June 2012}}</ref><ref name="SandbrookGüven">{{cite book|author1=Richard Sandbrook|author2=Ali Burak Güven|title=Civilizing Globalization, Revised and Expanded Edition: A Survival Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=asKIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA77|date=1 June 2014|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-5209-8|pages=77–}}</ref>}}

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===Rajiv Gandhi's premiership (1984–1990)===

[[File:President Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Rajiv Gandhi, and Sonia Gandhi.jpg|thumb|leftright|40th [[president of the United States]] [[Ronald Reagan]], Sonia Gandhi, First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]] and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, during a state dinner for Prime Minister Gandhi. June 1985]]

[[File:Bezoek premier Rajiv Gandhi van India ontvangst op Paleis Huis ten Bosch Prins, Bestanddeelnr 933-4642.jpg|thumb|right|[[Queen of the Netherlands]] [[Beatrix of the Netherlands|Beatrix]] with [[Prince Claus of the Netherlands|Prince Claus]] meeting Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi]]

Sonia Gandhi's involvement with Indian public life began after the assassination of her mother-in-law and her husband's election as prime minister. As the prime minister's wife she acted as his official hostess and also accompanied him on a number of state visits.<ref>{{cite web|author=Rasheeda Bhagat|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/life/sonia-gandhi-ordinary-italian-to-powerful-indian/article2573884.ece|title=Sonia Gandhi: Ordinary Italian to powerful Indian|publisher=Thehindubusinessline.com|access-date=11 March 2014}}</ref>

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==Bibliography==

===Bibliography of Sonia Gandhi===

* ''Sonia Gandhi – An Extraordinary Life, An Indian Destiny'' (2011), a biography written by Rani Singh.