| Name |
Sonia
Gandhi |
|
| Original
name |
Sonia
Maino |
| Profession |
Politician |
| Date
of Birth |
Dec.
9, 1946. |
| Star |
Sagittarius |
| Birth
Place |
Ovassanjo,
80 km away from Turin, Italy |
| Mother
tongue |
Italian |
| Family |
Father:Stefano
Eugene Maino
mother: Paola Maino
husband: Rajeev Gandhi
Son: Rahul Gandhi
Daughter: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra |
| Famous
in-laws |
Mother-in-Law:
Indra
Gandhi
Father-in-law: Feroze Gandhi
Brother-in-law: Sanjay Gandhi
Sister-in-law: Maneka Gandhi
Grandfather-in-law: Jawaharlal Nehru
Nephew: Varun Gandhi
Son-in-law: Robert Vadra
|
| Education |
*
Early education in a Roman Catholic school
run by the Salesian Order.
* She attended an interpreter's school where she
studied English, French and Russian.
* A two-year certificate course in English language
at Cambridge, UK.
* She has a diploma in conservation of oil paintings
from the National Museum in New Delhi.
|
| Fluent |
English,
French, Spanish, Italian and Russian |
| Citizen |
Renounced
Italian citizenship on 27 April 1983 and became
a citizen of India on 30 April 1983.
|
| Marriage
with Rajiv Gandhi |
*
Met Rajiv Gandhi in Cambridge during 1960s.
* They were married in 28th Feb, 1968.
* The wedding was a simple nondenominational ceremony
in the garden of 1, Safdarjang Road.
* It was held on Vasant Panchami day in February,
the same day when Indira Gandhi married Feroze
decades earlier.
* She wore a pink sari made from cotton which
Nehru had spun while in prison. It was the same
sari which Indira Gandhi had worn for her wedding.
|
| Politics |
*
She officially took charge of the Congress party
in 1998 and was elected to parliament in 1999.
* Was first elected
as a Member of Parliament to the 13th Lok Sabha
from the Amethi Parliamentary Constituency of
Uttar Pradesh in 1999, getting 67% of the polled
votes.
* She has been elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from
the Rae Bareily Constituency of Uttar Pradesh.
* On
18 May 2004, after her Congress party won the
Indian election, she was slated to become Prime
Minister, but declined after fierce opposition
and the promise of future turmoil from the defeated
right wing. |
| Her
first visit to Delhi |
"When
I first came to Delhi in 1968, my father had given
me a return ticket. But Delhi was the place of
my second birth and the ticket, like my past,
was lost in the mists of time." |
| Priyanka's
entry to politics |
"She
is a young mother with two small children and
a husband to look after and naturally she feels
that she has to look after her family. If she
entered politics, she wouldn’t be able to given
them the attention they need." |
| About
her foreign origin |
"I
never felt they look at me as a foreigner. Because
I'm not. I am Indian" |
| Sad
moment in her life |
When
her husband Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a
suicide bomber in the South Indian state of Tamil
Nadu during an election campaign on May 21, 1991.
|
| Powerful |
She
was No 3 in Forbes
magazine's
list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
|
| Day
off |
Likes to have a day off on sundays |
| Likes |
to
visit all the beautiful places in India |
| Earlier
views on politics |
*
Long
back she had even threatened to divorce Rajiv
if he ever entered politics.
* She would have
rather seen her children beg than enter into the
maelstrom of Indian political life. |
| Favourite
food |
*
freshly squeezed orange juice
* Dhal and Roti
* Smoked salamon
* avoids pastas, pizzas, noodles and almost any
kind of junk food. |
| Interests |
Indian hand-looms and handicrafts, as well as
Indian contemporary, classical and tribal art. |
| Religion |
remains
a Roman Catholic, but follows Hindu and Indian
traditions with her children |
| Admired |
her husband |
| Books |
*
Authored two books: 'Rajiv' and 'Rajiv’s World'.
* Edited 'Freedom’s Daughter' and 'Two Alone,
Two Together' (two volumes of letters exchanged
between Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi from
1922 to 1964). |
| Positions
held |
*
March 1998 onwards - President, Indian National
Congress Chairperson, Congress (I) Parliamentary
Party (CPP).
* 1999-2000 : Member, General Purposes Committee. |
| Chairperson |
(i)
Rajiv Gandhi Foundation;
(ii) Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust;
(iii) Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund;
(iv) Nehru Trust for Cambridge University;
(v) Kamala Nehru Memorial Society and Hospital;
(vi) Nehru Memorial Museum and Library;
(vii) Indian Council for Child Welfare Trust;
(viii) Swaraj Bhawan Trust; Patron, Round Square
(International Group of Schools), United Kingdom |
| Facts |
*
The third woman of foreign
origin to hold the prestigious post, 'President
of the Indian National Congress' after Annie Beasant
and Nelli Sengupta.
* Sonia Gandhi also became the fifth from the
Nehru family to take over the Congress reins.
* Kashmir
used to be their holiday destination when her
husband was alive. |
| About
her |
I've seen her fight the day my grandmother died.
I've seen her fight the day my father died. And
she has won. My mother is my hero."- Rahul
Gandhi |
| Address |
Smt.
Sonia Gandhi, MP
10, Janpath
New Delhi.
Tele. (O) : 23034984, 23034285
Tele. (R) : 23014161, 23014481
E-Mail: soniagandhi@sansad.nic.in
|
| Biography |
*
Sonia: A biography,
by Rasheed Kidwai, Penguin India (December 2003).
Hardcover. ISBN: 0670049557. Price US$8.8, 256
pages.
* Sonia Gandhi Through A Different Lens; Ravi
Singavarapu |
| Quote |
' I am convinced that
the time is ripe for a massive renaissance of
our political culture so that we build that society
which combines compassion with competence, equity
with excellence." ' |
