Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, is set to become the UK’s next Prime Minister just 44 days after it was announced that ex-Conservative party member, Liz Truss, would be stepping down as Britain’s governing leader.
The 42-year-old, who is the son of Indian immigrants, is one of the wealthiest politicians in Westminster and will be the country’s first leader of colour. The ex-banker will also be asked to form a government by Britain’s recently appointed head-of-state, King Charles, after he defeated opponents Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt.
“This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party,” Mordaunt said in a statement as she withdrew from the race after failing to garner support. “Rishi has my full support.”
Sunak was selected to follow on from Truss by lawmakers from the Conservative Party, becoming the nation’s third prime minister in less than two months tasked with restoring stability to a country indebted with years of political and economic turmoil.
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, said that when announcing the results of the leadership race, the Conservative Party only received one “valid” nomination to be the leader and therefore Prime Minister, and that was Sunak.
An Oxford University graduate, the former Goldman Sachs analyst first came to national attention just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Britain, where he served as Finance Minister under Boris Johnson, developing the successful furlough scheme.
Sunak met his wife, Akshata Murthy—whose father is Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, founder of outsourcing giant Infosys Ltd—while at Stanford University. Sunak will only become Prime Minister when Liz Truss formally hands in her resignation with King Charles, when he will be invited to form a government.
