Former finance minister Rishi Sunak will become the U.K.’s first British Asian prime minister.
Sunak, 42, won the race on Monday to lead the Conservative Party after being the only candidate to secure the support of more than 100 Conservative members of parliament needed to stay in the race. His remaining rival, Penny Mordaunt, withdrew from the race after she failed to secure the nomination threshold of 100 Conservative lawmakers.
Sunak’s victory makes him the first person of color to be British prime minister, the first Hindu to hold the post and the youngest person to take office in over 200 years. He is also set to become the nation’s third leader in less than two months as the country faces economic and political chaos. He won the race on the same day as the start of Diwali.
The former finance minister will be replacing Liz Truss, who resigned after less than 46 days in office due to a failed tax-cutting budget that resulted in a revolt within the Conservative Party.
Sunak, who is reportedly one of Westminster’s richest politicians, is the son of African-born Hindus of Indian descent. Sunak has worked for banks and hedge funds, including Goldman Sachs and the Children’s Investment Fund Management.
The multi-millionaire was first elected to the House of Commons for Richmond in North Yorkshire in 2015 before he became a junior minister in Theresa May’s government. Sunak was given his first government role in 2019 when Boris Johnson appointed him as Chief Secretary to the Treasury before promoting him to chancellor in 2020.
Sunak’s main challenge as the next prime minister will be to restore economic stability and to unite a demoralized party.
“It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to serve the party I love, and to be able to give back to the country I owe so much to,” Sunak reportedly said. “The United Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge. We need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together.”
Featured Image via BBC News
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