Rishi Sunak, the 42-year-old conservative party leader, is all set to create history as the first person of Indian descent and the first person of color to become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Sunak was born in Southhampton to African-born Hindu Parents, Yashvir and Usha Sunak, in May 1980. He is married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his congratulations.
Bright young chap
Rishi Sunak pursued an MBA from Stanford University in California, a qualification he acquired with a scholarship.
He has had considerable experience working in the financial sector. He worked with Goldman Sachs for three years and later partnered with the Children’s Investment Fund Management and Theleme Partners.
A meteoric rise in Politics
He represented Richmond (Yorks) in the House of Commons since 2015 (re-elected in 2017 and 2019) and supported Brexit. He was appointed the Under-Secretary of State for Local Government in 2018 by Theresa May.
Later, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed him Chief Secretary to the Treasury in July 2019, and within months he became the Chancellor of the Exchequer following Sajid Javid’s resignation in February 2022.
Leading the UK’s post-COVID economy-building efforts, he allowed £330 billion in emergency support for businesses and spearheaded special programs such as ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ to get the economy rolling.
After Boris Johnson’s resignation, Mr. Sunak competed for the top political post but was defeated by Liz Truss. However, the extremely short tenure of Ms. Truss’s leadership offered another chance at the race for the Prime Minister, and he was almost immediately the favorite.
Announcing his latest candidacy, Rishi Sunak promised professionalism, integrity, and accountability to the British public.
Mr. Sunak has a combined wealth of 730 million pounds with his wife, Akshata Murthy.