Sonia Gandhi is an Italian born politician, who came to India as the bride of Rajiv Gandhi and had to enter politics after the assassination of her husband in 1991. At that time, she took the reins of the first political family of the country in her hands and has served as the President of Indian National Congress since 1998, becoming the longest serving President of the party in its history of 125 years.
Net Worth: $ 2 billion (Expected)
Income Sources: Sonia Gandhi has inherited most of her wealth from her husband Rajiv Gandhi and the amount could be much greater than the official statement.
Real Name: Edvige Antonia Albina Maino
Born: 9th December, 1946
Marital Status: Sonia Gandhi was married to Rajiv Gandhi in 1968. They had two children, Rahul and Priyanka.
Height: 1.63 M
Personal Background
Sonia Gandhi hails from a Roman Catholic family belonging to Lusiana, Veneto in Italy and she was raised in a town called Orbassano. Her father, Stefano Maino, has a small construction business and also fought against the Soviet Military in the World War II. Sonia went to study at Bell Educational Trust in Cambridge in 1964 and during this time, she met Rajiv Gandhi, who also studied at Trinity College in the University of Cambridge. The couple fell in love and got married in a Hindu ceremony in 1968, with the blessings of Mrs Indira Gandhi, Rajiv’s mother and the Prime Minister of India. Sonia was blessed with two children after that and served her duty as a devoted wife and doting mother, without showing any interest in politics even after her husband was forced to enter politics after the death of his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi in 1971.
Political Career
Sonia Gandhi was pushed into politics after the brutal assassination of her husband in 1991. However, she refused to take over the position of the Prime Minister of the country after the event. As the party was in shambles, she was persuaded to become a member of Congress in 1997 and elected the party President in 1998. Despite the challenges thrown upon her by senior Congress leaders like Sharad Pawar, Tariq Anwar and P A Sangma, she got full support and continued to be the leader, with these seniors ousted from the party. She won the Lok Sabha elections from the prime family constituency of Amethi in 1999, defeating BJP veteran Sushma Swaraj. At present, Sonia is the leader of the Opposition party at the center. Despite a number of controversies and continuous debate of her being a non-Indian, Sonia continues to hold her position with great poise and dignity. She is one of the most powerful politicians in the country and has been acclaimed with several awards and honors, including being the third most powerful woman by Forbes.
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