Sonia Gandhi is the matriarch of the Congress party dynasty and is one of the most influential women not only in India, but the world.
December 9, 1946 born in the village of Lusiana in northern Italy
1968 marries Rajiv Gandhi, the son of the then-Indian premier Indira Gandhi
1984-1989 Rajiv serves as prime minister, taking over after Indira's assassination
1991 Rajiv assassinated. Sonia turns down the opportunity to become prime minister
1998Becomes president of the Indian National Congress
Opponents criticise her foreign birth but she is, in fact, the fifth foreign-born leader of Congress
2010 Forbes ranks Sonia as the ninth most powerful individual in the world
