Emma Bonino, a prominent political figure who campaigned for the legalisation of abortion in heavily Roman Catholic Italy during the 1970s, has died at the age of 78. Her party, +Europa, announced her passing.
Bonino dedicated her life to fighting for various freedoms, including reproductive rights, against world hunger, and against authoritarianism. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid tribute, recognising her significant role in public life despite their differing views.
Throughout her over fifty-year career, Bonino served as a European commissioner and co-founded the death penalty watchdog Hands Off Cain.
She made an unsuccessful bid for Italy’s first female president in 1999. Known for her sharp insights, she remained active in political commentary on Italian television and wore colourful headscarves publicly after her 2015 cancer diagnosis. Her death follows the recent losses of other feminist icons, including Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan.
Bonino challenged both Vatican and conservative establishment
Born on 9 March 1948, in Bra, near Turin, Italy, Bonino spent her childhood on a farm, where she found life “deadly boring.” She became involved in politics to enact change after experiencing an illegal abortion at 26, a humiliating ordeal for her. In 1975, she co-founded the Information Centre for Sterilisation and Abortion, which provided information and performed abortions before they were legalised.
The following year, she was elected to the Italian parliament as a member of the Radical Party, known for its anticlericalism and civil liberties advocacy. The party sought to challenge the conservative political establishment and the Catholic Church’s influence. Abortion was legalised in Italy in 1978, solidifying Bonino’s commitment to politics, where she became a prominent leader of the Radical Party and its successors.
Key political roles at national and European levels
A veteran in Italian politics and an advocate for reform, she was elected six times to the Lower House and twice as a senator. In 2017, she became the leader of +Europa, a liberal, pro-European federalist party launched for the 2018 elections. Over her 50-year career, Bonino achieved significant successes both in Italy and internationally.
She gained recognition when then-Premier Silvio Berlusconi appointed her to the European Commission in 1995. There, she shaped the EU’s consumer protection policy and established the European Commission Humanitarian Office.
Bonino travelled to war zones like the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan, arguing for humanitarian assistance alongside political and military intervention.
In June 1999, she led the successful Lista Bonino in the European elections, securing 8.5% of the votes and becoming Italy’s fourth-largest political force. She served as foreign minister, trade minister, and EU affairs minister in centre-left governments and strongly advocated a common European foreign and defence policy.
In May 2025, after receiving honorary citizenship from her hometown of Bra, she said, “My passion is humanity.” In 2001, she began focusing on Arab women’s equality and spent half her time in Cairo, learning Arabic and building a network of intellectuals and civil society leaders.
Pope Francis and Bonino’s humanitarian efforts
Never married, she was close to her family in Piedmont and reflected on her father’s inability to understand her restlessness. In 2015, she announced her lung cancer diagnosis but continued her political activism and later reported being in remission.
She formed a notable friendship with Pope Francis, who visited her in November 2024 after a hospital stay. She shared that he encouraged her humanitarian efforts. Bonino often said there were still many battles to fight, including human rights and world hunger. She is survived by her siblings, Domenica and Giovanni.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
