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Emma Bonino Dies in Rome at 78

Her death ends the life of a leading liberal human-rights campaigner who helped change Italy’s laws on abortion.

Overview

  • +Europa announced Bonino’s death this Friday, saying she died in Rome at the age of 78 and posting a tribute video on its social accounts.
  • She was hospitalised in serious condition earlier this week, left intensive care on Thursday and was transferred to a private clinic before her death.
  • Bonino spent five decades in public life as a Radical activist, four-time MEP, European Commissioner in the 1990s and later an Italian minister and senator; she also founded the pro‑European party +Europa.
  • Her public fight with lung cancer began in 2015, she announced remission in 2023, and recurrent respiratory problems led to several recent hospital admissions.
  • Leaders across Italy and Europe, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, paid tribute to her work and influence.