diff --git a/gdb/python/python.c b/gdb/python/python.c
index 67f362b852d..f5ace2ff978 100644
--- a/gdb/python/python.c
+++ b/gdb/python/python.c
@@ -1644,6 +1644,8 @@ do_start_initialization ()
      program_name, and respect the requirement of Py_SetProgramName
      for Python versions that do not duplicate program_name.  */
   static wchar_t *progname_copy;
+  /* Similar treatment for the Python home directory.  */
+  static wchar_t *home_copy;
 #endif
 
 #ifdef WITH_PYTHON_PATH
@@ -1667,6 +1669,18 @@ do_start_initialization ()
       fprintf (stderr, "Could not convert python path to string\n");
       return false;
     }
+
+  std::string homedir = ldirname (python_libdir.c_str ());
+  home_copy = XNEWVEC (wchar_t, homedir.size () + 1);
+  count = mbstowcs (home_copy, homedir.c_str (), homedir.size () + 1);
+  if (count == (size_t) -1)
+    {
+      fprintf (stderr, "Could not convert python home to wide string\n");
+      return false;
+    }
+  /* Note that, as with the program name, we don't free HOME_COPY.  */
+  Py_SetPythonHome (home_copy);
+
   setlocale (LC_ALL, oldloc.c_str ());
 
   /* Note that Py_SetProgramName expects the string it is passed to
@@ -1678,8 +1692,22 @@ do_start_initialization ()
   PyImport_AppendInittab ("_gdb", init__gdb_module);
 #else
   Py_SetProgramName (progname.release ());
-#endif
-#endif
+
+  /* We override any value that the PYTHONHOME might have, as we want
+     to make sure that we use the Python library that comes with GDB.
+
+     Note that the Python 2.7.17 documentation for Py_SetPythonHome
+     says that the "home" argument should be:
+
+         [...] a zero-terminated character string in static storage
+	 whose contents will not change for the duration of the program’s
+	 execution. No code in the Python interpreter will change
+	 the contents of this storage.
+
+     That's why we have to xstrdup the dirname.  */
+  Py_SetPythonHome (xstrdup (ldirname (python_libdir.c_str ()).c_str ()));
+#endif	/* IS_PY3K */
+#endif	/* WITH_PYTHON_PATH */
 
   Py_Initialize ();
 #if PY_VERSION_HEX < 0x03090000