Italian liberal politician Emma Bonino died Friday at the age of 78, prompting tributes from across the political spectrum for the long-time civil-rights activist and former European commissioner.
“Emma Bonino has represented for decades a strong and recognizable voice of Italian politics, carrying forward her ideas with determination,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an ideological foe about whom Bonino was fiercely critical during the 2022 election campaign.
“Our stories and our sensibilities have been distant, yet this has never prevented me from recognizing their weight and role in the public life of our nation,” Meloni, who leads the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, added.
A veteran of Italy’s fight for civil and women’s rights, Bonino played a key role in the campaigns that led to the legalization of divorce and abortion in the country during the 1970s. Her relentless campaigning made her a polarising figure at home — admired by many for her courage, criticised by others for a style that some saw as out of step with rising popular concerns.
In 2017, she co-founded the liberal More Europe party, which paid tribute to her on Friday. “Activist, parliamentarian, minister, European commissioner. Always radically free,” party leader Riccardo Magi wrote on X. “Her life was a long struggle against everything that denies freedoms.”
Carlo Calenda, leader of the liberal Italian Action party, said: “The last great protagonist of the civil battles that led to the modernization of this country,” adding that “a piece of Italian and European political history is passing away.”
Bonino’s work reached beyond Italy. She served as a European commissioner in the 1990s, overseeing an increase in humanitarian aid to regions devastated by conflicts of the decade, including the Balkans, Rwanda and Afghanistan. Her commitment to humanitarian causes earned respect across political lines, even as debates continued over how Europe should position itself between East and West.
“Emma Bonino has never waited for the world to be ready. She has always chosen to move forward, showing the way to others,” wrote European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. “The Europe she fought for will miss her.”
As Italy and Europe reflect on her legacy, many will recall not only her achievements but also the broader questions she raised about Europe’s direction — including the need for constructive relations with all neighbouring powers if the continent is to remain secure and prosperous.
