Sonia Gandhi Biography and Works.

Sonia Maino, now Sonia Gandhi, was born in an Italian family in a village called Obasanjo on December 9, 1946. She weaved a dramatic age to politics. The Italy-born Indian politician was elected as President of the Indian National Congress by overwhelming support from across the country in 2005.

Rajiv Gandhi married Sonia Gandhi in 1968 after three years of courtship. Though she had refused to enter politics after the assassination of her husband, Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, but agreed to join in 1997.

Married into India’s best known family of Nehru-Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi became a primary member of the Congress before the Calcutta Congress Plenary Session in August 1997.

Sonia is the fifth foreign-born person to be a leader of the Congress Party. However, she is the first one since independence.

Sonia Gandhi became a full-fledged Indian citizen after the assassination of her mother-in-law and the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi in 1984.

She has served as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in the Lok Sabha and the National Advisory Council (NAC) since 2004. Sonia Gandhi became the longest serving President in the 125 year history of the Congress party in September 2010 when she was re-elected for the fourth time.

Sonia Gandhi had resigned from the chairmanship of the NAC in 2006 over the Office of Profit Controversy but became the chairperson again in 2010.

Trivia

Sonia Gandhi was named the third most powerful woman in the world by the Forbes magazine in the year, 2004 and was ranked 6th in 2007. In 2010, Gandhi was ranked as the ninth most powerful person on the planet by the Forbes magazine. She was also named among the Time 100 most influential people in the world’ for 2007 and 2008.