ROME — Italian politician and human rights activist Emma Bonino has died in Rome at the age of 78. The political party +Europa announced her death, marking the end of a career that spanned more than five decades in national and European public life.

Bonino was admitted to Rome's Santo Spirito hospital in code red on Sunday after suffering a respiratory crisis, according to Ansa.it. She later left the intensive care unit and was taken to a private clinic. Her health struggles included a previous battle with lung cancer, from which she had been in remission for three years prior to this final hospitalization.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid tribute to Bonino, acknowledging her impact despite their political differences. "For decades, Emma Bonino has been a strong and recognizable voice in Italian politics, championing her ideas with determination," Meloni said in a social media post. Meloni added that their different backgrounds and perspectives never prevented her from acknowledging Bonino's role in the nation’s public life.

The +Europa party also issued a statement honoring its former leader. "Today we lose not only our leader but also one of the most clear-sighted, courageous and free figures in the political history of our country," the party wrote on Facebook. The statement described her life as a long struggle against everything that denies freedom, including clandestine abortion, world hunger, the stranglehold of party politics, female genital mutilation, punitive justice, genocide, and every form of authoritarianism.

Bonino was born on March 9, 1948, in Bra, Italy, and spent her childhood on a farm near Turin. She graduated in foreign languages from Bocconi University in Milan. At age 26, she had an illegal abortion and subsequently surrendered to police. "I decided that never, never, never again should anyone have to suffer this humiliation," Bonino said in an interview regarding the experience.

In 1975, Bonino was among the founders of the Information Center for Sterilization and Abortion. She was elected to the Italian parliament for the Radical Party in 1976, two years before abortion was legalized in Italy in 1978. Throughout her career, she was elected six times as a Lower House lawmaker and two times as a senator. She served as a senator for Rome between 2008 and 2013, and again between 2018 and 2022.

Silvio Berlusconi offered Bonino one of Italy’s two seats in the European Commission in 1995. She served as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection in the Santer Commission from 1995 to 1999. During this tenure, she forged the EU’s consumer protection policy and created the European Commission Humanitarian Office. Her work led her to travel to war zones in former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sudan, and Afghanistan.

In June 1999, Bonino headed the Lista Bonino slate in the European elections, which received 8.5% of the votes. That same year, her bid to become Italy’s first female president failed. She later served in the government of Italy as Minister of International Trade from 2006 to 2008 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2014.

She also held the role of EU affairs minister in Italian center-left governments. In 2017, she became the leader of the +Europa party.

Bonino maintained a friendship with Pope Francis despite conflicting views on ethical issues. In November 2024, Pope Francis visited Bonino at her home in Rome, bringing her roses and chocolates. A photo posted by Bonino showed her and the Pope sitting in wheelchairs on her terrace. Bonino said Pope Francis encouraged her to continue her humanitarian battles during the visit.

Her health challenges became public in January 2015, when she announced on Radio Radicale that she was suffering from lung cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. By May 2015, she stated her cancer was in complete remission. Eight years after that announcement, in 2023, she appeared on a television program announcing she was healed. Following her diagnosis, she frequently appeared in public wearing colorful headscarves.

Bonino was a co-founder of the death penalty watchdog Hands Off Cain and appeared frequently on Italian television as a political pundit. She began spending half her time in Cairo in 2001 and was never married. "My passion is humanity," she said in a public statement in May 2025. "I’ve got roots, I’ve got a homeland, a family, but precisely all that allows me to be a citizen of the world." Her hometown Bra granted her honorary citizenship in May 2025.

Reflecting on her personal history, Bonino noted that her father died before she could show him she could accomplish something. "He never understood my restlessness," she said in an interview. "He used to tell me: Emma, you are like Japanese poetry: beautiful, but I can’t understand it." She summarized her political philosophy by stating, "You can look at the fights I have waged with this point of view: I support a democratic liberal order and believe in the centrality of the individual, his rights but also his responsibilities." When asked about the scope of her work, she replied, "Many, too many. Human rights, world hunger, free scientific research.. Ten lives won’t be enough." Bonino is survived by her siblings, Domenica and Giovanni, and their children.

Why It Matters

Bonino's death closes a chapter in Italian politics defined by her advocacy for civil liberties and international humanitarian engagement. Her career included roles such as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection and Minister of Foreign Affairs, where she influenced both domestic policy and Italy's global standing. The tributes from political figures across the spectrum, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, reflect her enduring presence in the nation's public life despite ideological differences.

Her activism on issues such as abortion rights, which began with her involvement in the Information Center for Sterilization and Abortion in 1975, coincided with major legal changes in Italy. Her later work with the European Commission Humanitarian Office and visits to conflict zones demonstrated a commitment to global human rights that extended beyond national borders. The recent visit from Pope Francis in November 2024 illustrated her ability to maintain dialogue across deep ethical divides, a characteristic that defined much of her public service.

Timeline

Research titled "Bonino, Emma, (born 9 March 1948), Minister of Foreign Affairs, Italy, 2013–14" was published in 2007 in Who's Who. Bonino was born on March 9, 1948, in Bra, Italy.

Bonino was elected to the Italian parliament for the Radical Party in 1976. Abortion was legalized in Italy in 1978. Bonino's bid to become Italy’s first female president failed in 1999. In June 1999, Bonino headed the Lista Bonino slate in the European elections.

What's New

Additional reporting provides further context on Bonino's life and recent events. A study titled "Case involving end-of-life decision issues in Italy" was published in 2007 in Intensive Care Medicine.

The +Europa party stated, "Today we lose not only our leader but also one of the most clear-sighted, courageous and free figures in the political history of our country." Bonino previously stated, "I decided that never, never, never again should anyone have to suffer this humiliation." She also remarked, "You can look at the fights I have waged with this point of view: I support a democratic liberal order and believe in the centrality of the individual, his rights but also his responsibilities." According to Ansa.it, Bonino was admitted to Rome's Santo Spirito hospital in code red on Sunday after suffering a respiratory crisis, and she later left the intensive care unit and was taken to a private clinic. She had previously been in remission from lung cancer three years prior. Records indicate that Bonino surrendered to police after having an illegal abortion.