Emma Bonino has died; farewell to the historic leader of the Radicals at the age of 78

Emma Bonino, founder of +Europa and a long-time leader of the Radicals, died today at the age of 78. She had been hospitalized for several days at the Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome due to respiratory problems. “Emma has left us, but she will never truly leave us,” reads a statement from the Radical Party. “Today we are not only losing our leader; we are losing one of the most clear-sighted, courageous, and free-spirited figures in the political history of our country and the free world.”

Born in Bra, Piedmont, on March 9, 1948, Emma Bonino fought in the 1970s for the legalization of abortion, alongside Pannella. In the years that followed, she led various campaigns against the death penalty and female genital mutilation, in the fight against world hunger, and for the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

Throughout her long political career, Emma Bonino served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies, a Member of the European Parliament, a senator, and Vice President of the Senate. Between 1995 and 1999, she also served as a European Commissioner. In 2006, she reached the pinnacle of her career by becoming Minister of International Trade and European Policies; in 2013, she served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Letta government. In recent years, after helping to found +Europa in 2017, she returned to the Senate and was elected its president in July 2024.