Emma Bonino, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy and former European Commissioner, known for her prolonged activism in favor of Human Rights, has died this Friday at the age of 78.
"Emma has left us, but she will never abandon us. Today she not only leaves us our leader, she leaves us one of the most lucid, brave, and free protagonists in the political history of our country and the free world," her party Più Europa, of a liberal and pro-European orientation, has confirmed on social media.
Her political commitment began in the 1970s when she became involved in campaigns for the legalization of abortion in Italy and ran for elections under the initials of the Radical Party.
From then on, she began an extensive institutional career that led her to hold a seat as a deputy for six legislatures, to be Commissioner for Fisheries in 1995, Minister for European Affairs between 2006 and 2008, and Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2013 and 2014 in social-democratic governments. Her last elected position was that of senator, a responsibility she held until 2022.
Her political formation has emphasized her critical spirit and her battle "against everything that denies freedoms," such as "clandestine abortion, hunger in the world, partitocracy, justicialism, genocides, or against all forms of authoritarianism," and has defined her as "activist, parliamentarian, minister, European commissioner," but "always radically free."
Throughout the decades, her work was recognized with important distinctions, including the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, the Legion of Honor of France, and the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, which she received in 1998.
Reactions in Italy and Brussels
Her figure has been praised by representatives of the current Italian Executive, including the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who has emphasized that for decades she embodied "a strong and recognizable voice of Italian politics, carrying forward her ideas with determination."
"Our stories and our sensibilities have been far apart, but this has never prevented me from recognizing her weight and her role in the public life of our Nation," Meloni has pointed out.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, has described her as an "authorized representative of Italian politics." "One of the most well-known faces of liberal radicalism. She was my colleague in Brussels, an intelligent woman with whom I always had a respectful and loyal exchange, despite often having different values and political views," he indicated.
He also emphasized that they both shared a "great European sentiment," and highlighted her defense of the moratorium on the death penalty and her commitment to seeking justice for women victims of female genital mutilation.
In the community sphere, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, stated in a message in Italian shared on social media that "the Europe for which she fought will feel her absence."
"Emma Bonino never waited for the world to be ready, she always chose to move forward, showing the way to others," highlighted the Maltese conservative to reclaim the trajectory of the former MEP and European Commissioner.