Sonia Gandhi

Sonia Gandhi is an Indian politician and the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, the Indian prime minister who was murdered in 1991. She followed in the footsteps of her husband in becoming leader of the Congress Party in 1998, which was then struggling in the aftermath of several scandals. Under Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, the party achieved great victories in 2004 and 2009. Instead of herself accepting the post of prime minister, she put forward Manmohan Singh. As president of the Congress Party and leader of the current coalition, Sonia Gandhi is considered one of the world’s most influential people.