Sonia Gandhi, an Indian politician, is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. She is the current President of the Indian National Congress. Being the 3rd woman of foreign origin to hold the prestigious post after Annie Besant and Nellie Sengupta, Sonia Gandhi also became the 5th from the Nehru family to take over the Congress reins. She is the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha, and the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. She also is the 8th person of the foreign origin to be the Congress president. Sonia Gandhi was re-elected for the 4th in 2010 and became the longest reining president of Congress in its 125 year history.

Early Life of Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi was born as Edvige Antonia Albina Maino, on 9th December 1946 to Paola and Stefano Maino in Lusiana, a little village 50 km from Vicenza, Italy. Her father, a building contractor and reportedly former Fascist supporter of Mussolini, died in 1983. Her mother and two sisters still live around Orbassano. Before going to the city of Cambridge to study English at The Bell Educational Trust`s language school, she spent her adolescence in Orbassano, a town near Turin being raised in a Roman Catholic family and attending a Catholic school. Sonia met with Rajiv Gandhi, who was attending the Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, in the year 1965.

Political Career of Sonia Gandhi
Despite the family`s heavy involvement in politics, Sonia Gandhi had, in fact, shown aversion to politics for long. After the assassination of her mother-in-law, Rajiv Gandhi was elected as Prime Minister. Sonia Gandhi`s involvement with Indian public life began from that period. Sonia did not enter politics until after her husband`s assassination on May 21, 1991. Following his death, she was pressured by the Congress Party to enter politics and to continue the party`s dynastic tradition of being led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

She officially took charge of the Congress party as its president in 1998. Sonia Gandhi was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999 from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh as well as Bellary in Karnataka. Congress, which was forecast not to cross the double-digit mark, managed a tally of 141 seats, largely due to her charismatic presence during the campaign. In the year 1999, Sonia Gandhi was elected the Leader of the Opposition of the 13th Lok Sabha. Though initially due to her origin, her credibility in Indian politics was questioned, but with time Sonia proved her mettle and gave Congress the much needed lease of life. It was under her leadership that the Congress won the Lok Sabha elections in 2004.

Publications of Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi has published two books about her late husband, named, Rajiv and Rajiv`s World, and edited two volumes of letters exchanged between Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi from 1922 to 1964, Freedom`s Daughter and Two Alone, and the other being, Two Together.

Personal Life of Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi got married to Rajiv Gandhi in the year 1968. After their marriage, they moved into the house of former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, who was her mother-in-law. Sonia had two children with Rajiv Gandhi, a son Rahul Gandhi, and a daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.