Sonia Gandhi

In 1965, while living in Cambridge, she met and fell in love with a young Indian student, Rajiv Gandhi, who hailed from a powerful political family. Her family was initially opposed to the match as Rajiv was from a culture very different from their own. However, the couple persisted in their love and got married in 1968. They had two children Rahul and Priyanka.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991. Sonia chose to remain in India instead of moving back to Italy. She never remarried.

Sonia Gandhi was born as Edvige Antonia Albina Màino on 9 December 1946 in Lusiana, Veneto, Italy, to Stefano and Paola Maino as one of their three daughters. Her father was a building mason who owned a small construction business.

Antonia was raised in a traditional Roman Catholic family and went to a Catholic school. Later on, in 1964, she enrolled at the Bell Educational Trust's language school in the city of Cambridge.

As a college student, she took up a job as a waitress at a Greek restaurant (the Varsity Restaurant in Cambridge) to pay her bills. There she met a young Indian, Rajiv Gandhi, a scion of the politically powerful Nehru–Gandhi family, who was a mechanical engineering student at the University of Cambridge. The couple soon fell in love and decided to get married.

Antonia Maino married Rajiv Gandhi in 1968, in a Hindu ceremony. She took up the name “Sonia Gandhi” and moved into the house of her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, who was the then Prime Minister of India.

Despite belonging to a prominent political family, Rajiv Gandhi was not much interested in politics. He was also not keen on an engineering career and instead pursued his true passion which was flying. He became a commercial airline pilot for Indian Airlines while Sonia settled into the role of a homemaker. The couple avoided all involvement with politics.

Indira Gandhi’s younger son, Sanjay, was expected to follow his mother into politics. However Sanjay died in a plane crash in 1980 and Indira Gandhi pressurized Rajiv to enter politics. Initially both Rajiv and Sonia were opposed to the idea though later on Rajiv decided to enter politics, though reluctantly.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi succeeded her as the Prime Minister. As the Prime Minister’s wife Sonia had to become involved with Indian public life.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991 and being his widow, Sonia was considered by many as the natural heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. She was offered the leadership of the Congress Party but she refused this offer and chose to stay away from politics.

In 2004, Sonia Gandhi was named the third most powerful woman in the world by ‘Forbes’ magazine.

In 2006, the Order of Leopold was bestowed upon her by the Government of Belgium.

She was listed among "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures" in the year 2010 by ‘New Statesman’.