Interim 10 August 2019 (2019-08-10) – 26 October 2022 (2022-10-26)
Preceded by
Rahul Gandhi
Succeeded by
Mallikarjun Kharge
In office 14 March 1998 (1998-03-14) – 16 December 2017 (2017-12-16)
Vice President
Rahul Gandhi (from 2013)
Preceded by
Sitaram Kesri
Succeeded by
Rahul Gandhi
Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance
In office 6 May 2004 (2004-05-06) – 18 July 2023 (2023-07-18)
Preceded by
Office established
Succeeded by
Office abolished
Chairperson of the National Advisory Council
In office 29 March 2010 – 25 May 2014
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
Preceded by
Office established
Succeeded by
Position abolished
In office 4 June 2004 – 23 March 2006
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
Preceded by
Office established
Succeeded by
Position abolished
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha
In office 13 October 1999 – 6 February 2004
Preceded by
Sharad Pawar
Succeeded by
L. K. Advani
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 April 2024 (2024-04-03)
Preceded by
Manmohan Singh
Constituency
Rajasthan
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 17 May 2004 – 2 April 2024
Preceded by
Satish Sharma
Constituency
Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh
In office 10 October 1999 – 17 May 2004
Preceded by
Sanjay Singh
Succeeded by
Rahul Gandhi
Constituency
Amethi, Uttar Pradesh
Spouse of the Prime Minister of India
In role 31 October 1984 – 2 December 1989
Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi
Preceded by
Gayatri Devi
Succeeded by
Sita Kumari Singh
Personal details
Born
(1946-12-09) 9 December 1946 (age 77) Lusiana, Veneto, Italy
Citizenship
Italy (1946–1983) India (1983–present)
Political party
Indian National Congress
Spouse
Rajiv Gandhi
(m. 1968; died 1991)
Children
Rahul Gandhi (son)
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (daughter)
Relatives
See Nehru–Gandhi family
Residence(s)
10 Janpath, New Delhi, Delhi, India
Alma mater
Bell Educational Trust
Signature
Sonia Gandhi (Hindi:[ˈsoːnɪjaːˈɡaːndʱiː], Italian:[ˈsɔːnjaˈɡandi]; née Maino[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 Prime Minister of India, and remained in office until 2017 after serving for twenty-two years.[a] 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 party president, and elected over Jitendra Prasada.[b] Under her leadership, the Congress went on to form the government post the 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. Gandhi declined the premiership following the 2004 victory; she instead led the ruling alliance and the National Advisory Council.[c]
Over the course of her career, Gandhi presided over the advisory councils credited for the formation and subsequent implementation of such rights-based development and welfare schemes as the Right to Information, Food Security Bill, and MGNREGA, as she drew criticism related to the National Herald case. Her foreign birth has also been a subject of much debate and controversy.[d] Gandhi's active participation in politics began to reduce during the latter half of the 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 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.[e]
^"Sonia Gandhi retires as Congress president, to remain active in politics". The Indian Express. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
^Chowdhary, Neerja (16 December 2017). "As Sonia Gandhi makes way". The Indian Express. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
^Naqshbandi, Aurangzeb (16 December 2017). "Sonia Gandhi's 19 years as Congress president: From husband Rajiv's death to son Rahul's elevation". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
^Chandra, Rina (14 April 2009). "Sonia Gandhi keeps Congress hopes alive in India polls". Reuters. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
^Weinraub, Bernard (24 May 1991). "Assassination In India; Sonia Gandhi Declines Invitation To Assume Husband's Party Post". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
^"Sonia Gandhi re-elected Congress President". Outlook. 25 March 2005. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
^"Sonia Gandhi Biography". Elections in India. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
^"Profile: Sonia Gandhi". BBC News. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
^"Fourth time in a row, Sonia Gandhi is Congress chief". The Times of India. 4 September 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
^Robinson, Simon. "India's Most Influential". Time. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
^"Sonia: and yet so far". The Economist. 20 May 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
^Roy, Aruna (15 December 2017). "Movements and governments". The Indian Express. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
^"End of the longest regency". Outlook. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
^Cite error: The named reference autogenerated1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Ramaseshan, Radhika (30 August 2002). "BJP sees Gujarat ammo in Sonia origins". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 3 September 2002. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
^Manoj, CL (13 October 2017). "The Sonia Gandhi years and what Rahul Gandhi can learn". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
^Riedel, Bruce (24 June 2012). "Sonia Gandhi Health Mystery Sets India Leadership Adrift". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
^Richard Sandbrook; Ali Burak Güven (1 June 2014). Civilizing Globalization, Revised and Expanded Edition: A Survival Guide. SUNY Press. pp. 77–. ISBN 978-1-4384-5209-8.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
SoniaGandhi (Hindi: [ˈsoːnɪjaː ˈɡaːndʱiː], Italian: [ˈsɔːnja ˈɡandi]; née Maino [ˈmaino]; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest-serving...
and SoniaGandhi, who went on to become the President of the Indian National Congress. As the grandson of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, his lineage...
Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and SoniaGandhi, sister of Rahul Gandhi, and granddaughter of Feroze and Indira Gandhi, making her a member of the...
people have served as the president of the INC since its formation. SoniaGandhi is the longest-serving president of the party, having held office for...
Sanjay Gandhi (14 December 1946 – 23 June 1980) was an Indian politician and the younger son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. He was a member of parliament...
election. The widow of Rajiv Gandhi, SoniaGandhi represented this constituency from 1999 to 2004. Her son, Rahul Gandhi, was elected in 2004. He was...
by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and from 2004 until her appointment to the Rajya Sabha in 2024, by SoniaGandhi. Presently, Rae Bareli comprises...
entrepreneur, and the husband of Priyanka Gandhi. He is the son-in-law of SoniaGandhi and the brother-in-law of Rahul Gandhi. Robert Vadra was born to Rajendra...
was held by his wife, Indira Gandhi from 1967 to 1976 and his future daughter-in-law, and wife of Rajiv Gandhi, SoniaGandhi from 2004 to 2024. A school...
Kashmir, led by Rahul Gandhi. In October, the working committee held the 2022 INC Presidential Election. SoniaGandhi and Rahul Gandhi both declined to contest...
scandal, and his proximity to Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi through his wife SoniaGandhi, is thought to have contributed to the defeat of the Congress...
as the president of the Indian National Congress since its formation. SoniaGandhi is the longest serving president of the party, having held the office...
Congress Committee. In 2004, he invited SoniaGandhi to contest her mother in law’s constituency Raebareli. SoniaGandhi contested the 2004 Indian general election...
appeared in the Star Plus serial Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. She portrayed SoniaGandhi on the television series 7 RCR, and in the Hindi film The Accidental...
to SoniaGandhi and made India her home. Their first child, a son, Rahul Gandhi was born in 1970. In 1972, the couple had a daughter, Priyanka Gandhi, who...
economist and politician Subramanian Swamy against politicians SoniaGandhi and Rahul Gandhi, their companies and associated persons. As per the complaint...
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, INC chairperson SoniaGandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi was appointed to head a six-member committee...
between the parties could be reached leading to the government's defeat. SoniaGandhi, as leader of the opposition and largest opposition party (Indian National...
Yatra: SoniaGandhi arrives in Mysore on Day 4 of Karnataka leg". The Times of India. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023. "Rahul Gandhi Asked About...
any of the four Gandhi family candidates in the election: his mother Maneka Gandhi, aunt SoniaGandhi and first cousin Rahul Gandhi. The security deposits...
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance came to power, its chairperson SoniaGandhi unexpectedly relinquished the prime ministership to Singh. His first...
election, Gandhi resigned. SoniaGandhi was selected by the party's presidium as the interim president. SoniaGandhi is Rahul Gandhi's mother, and was the party's...
done by SoniaGandhi. However, it was formally inaugurated by the then, President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma, in the presence of SoniaGandhi and others...
criticism from her own party and from the country, Congress President SoniaGandhi asked the 22nd Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, an economist, to head...
hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray and saw SoniaGandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and chief ministers of 5 states in attendance. Over the two-day...