Key facts
- Emma Bonino, a lifelong campaigner for rights and a former European commissioner, has died at 78.
- Bonino was a former member of the European Parliament and held several senior positions in Italy, including lawmaker, senator, and three-time minister.
- She was a passionate advocate for European federalism and a defender of international human rights.
- Her activism was inspired by her own illegal abortion in 1974, leading her to campaign for abortion legalization, divorce, and secularization in Italy.
- Bonino served as Italy's European commissioner from 1994 to 1995 and later as foreign minister in 2013.
Emma Bonino, a formidable Italian politician, rights activist, and former European commissioner, has died at the age of 78. Her party, Più Europa, announced her passing on Friday.
Bonino's career spanned decades, marked by her dedication to political activism and human rights, particularly advocating for abortion access. She held numerous senior roles in both Italy and the European Union, including serving as a lawmaker, senator, and three-time minister in Italy, as well as a member of the European Parliament and a European commissioner.
Born in rural Piedmont, Bonino's activism was deeply influenced by her personal experience with an illegal abortion in 1974. This led her to join the feminist movement and engage in civil disobedience, campaigning for the legalization of abortion and divorce, the ban on nuclear power, and the secularization of Italy. She was elected to parliament in 1976 as part of the Radical Party.
Bonino was appointed Italy's European commissioner in 1994 by Silvio Berlusconi, a role she initially found bureaucratic but later embraced for its potential to advance human rights on a transnational level. She traveled to conflict zones and was known for her direct approach, which sometimes drew criticism but also earned her respect. She faced scrutiny over fictitious humanitarian aid contracts during her tenure but was later cleared of involvement.
In her later years, Bonino expressed a desire for a stronger, more unified Europe, advocating for a "political union" that could rival global powers like China and the US, while rejecting the idea of a "European super-state."
She returned to Italian politics in 2006, serving as minister for European affairs and later as vice president of the senate. Her ability to work across ideological lines facilitated her appointment as foreign minister in 2013. Despite ideological differences, she also formed a personal relationship with Pope Francis, bonding over their shared support for migrants.