Sonia Gandhi: Family, Career, Profession and Achievements
Hemant Singh
Dec 9, 2019 10:43 IST
Personal Information about Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi's Original Name: Antonia Edvige Albina Maino
Date and Place of Birth: December 9, 1946, Lusiana, Veneto region, (Italy)
Father of Sonia Gandhi: Stefano Maino
Mother of Sonia Gandhi: Paola Maino
Religion: Roman Catholic Christian
Current Age of Sonia Gandhi: 73 Years
Citizenship: Italy (1946–1983), India (1983–present)
Congress President elected in: 1998
Constituency: Rae Bareli
Spouse(s): Rajiv Gandhi
Married to Rajeev Gandhi: 1968
Children
Son: Rahul Gandhi
Daughter: Priyanka Gandhi
Family Details
Sonia Gandhi is the widow of late PM Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi has two children, Priyanka Wadra and Rahul Gandhi. Despite belonging to the significant Nehru family, Rajiv and Sonia avoided all participation in politics.
(Sonia with her Mother)
Rajiv Gandhi worked as an airline pilot at the same time as Sonia Gandhi took care of her family. When Indira Gandhi was expelled from office in the 1977 in the repercussion of the Indian Emergency, Rajiv’s family moved overseas for a short time. When Rajiv Gandhi entered politics in the year 1982 after the death of his brother Sanjay Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi sustained to focus on her family & shunned all contact with the public.
Political Career of Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Indian politician and current president of Indian National Congress. She married to late Mr. Rajeev Gandhi in 1968 but unfortunately Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in the year 1991.
Sonia Gandhi was invited by the Congress leaders to conquest the government, but she refused and overtly stayed away from politics but lastly she agreed to join politics in the year 1997 and elected as the Congress President in 1998.
She became the longest-serving president in the history of Congress party. Sonia Gandhi was regarded the 3rd most influential woman in the world by the Forbes magazine in 2004 & was ranked 6th in the year 2007.
In the year 2010, Sonia Gandhi ranked as the 9th most influential person on the planet by the Forbes Magazine. She was also recognized among the Time 100 most powerful people in the world for 2007 and 2008.
She was the Chairperson of ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha since the year 2004 to 2014.
Profession
- After joining as a chief member of Indian National Congress, after 62 days, Sonia Gandhi became the President of the party.
- Sonia Gandhi won Lok Sabha elections in the year 1999 from Bellary, Uttar Pradesh.
- Sonia Gandhi was re - elected as the Lok Sabha member from Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, two times in the year 2004 and again in the year 2009, 2014, and 2019.
- She was elected in the thirteenth Lok Sabha as the Leader of Opposition in the year 1999 during the NDA government guided by Bharatiya Janata Party under the management of Atal Behari Vajpayee
- As the leader of opposition, in the year 2003, she called a no - confidence motion against the government
- The 2004 elections saw her initiating a nation-wide movement with the "Aam Aadmi" slogan aligned with the “India Shining” slogan of National Democratic Alliance led by BJP.
Achievements
2004: Sonia Gandhi was addressed as the 3rd most powerful woman of the world by the Forbes magazine
2006: Sonia Gandhi received a voluntary Doctorate from Brussels University
2006: Belgium Government honoured her with the Order of King Leopold
2007: Sonia Gandhi was mentioned as the 6th most powerful woman of the world by the Forbes magazine.
She was regarded as one of the 100 most influential people of the world by Time in the year 2007 and in 2008.
2008: Sonia Gandhi received the Honorary Doctorate in Literature from Madras University
2009: Sonia Gandhi was addressed as the 9th most powerful woman of the world by the Forbes magazine
2010: A British magazine, New Statesman, ranked her among 50 most influential people of the world
Books and Documentaries
Books featuring Sonia Gandhi:
Sonia Gandhi – An Extraordinary Life, An Indian Destiny (2011) written by Rani Singh
Sonia Gandhi: Tryst with India written by Nurul Islam Sarkar
Sonia: A Biography by Rasheed Kidwai
The Accidental Prime Minister written by Sanjaya Baru, 2014