Former British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that he was running to become the next British Prime Minister. The announcement was made a day after Boris Johnson stepped down from the post of UK’s Prime Minister.
Boris Johnson resigned as British Prime Minister on Thursday, following the resignation of over 50 members of his administration in the previous two days in protest of the nomination of prominent Conservative MP Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip. Pincher resigned last week after acknowledging drunken behavior.
The resignations of 42-year-old British Indian ministerRishi Sunak and health secretarySajid Javid on Tuesday night triggered a chain reaction of resignations from Johnson’s cabinet, finally culminating to his resignation as prime minister.
Sunak was forthright in his resignation letter, which he shared on Twitter minutes after Johnson went on TV to explain his error in deliberately appointing now-suspended MP Chris Pincher, who had a questionable record, to a key government position.
Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy, is one of the frontrunners for the top post as the search for a replacement for Boris Johnson begins.
Here’s all you need to know about the Indian-origin leader:
On February 13, 2020, Rishi Sunak was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, months after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson designated him Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Rishi Sunak, who was born in Southampton to Indian parents Yashvir and Usha Sunak, attended Winchester College and went on to study Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at Oxford University.
He was hailed for an economic rescue package during the coronavirus epidemic, which included a jobs retention scheme that averted widespread unemployment and may have cost up to 410 billion pounds ($514 billion).
Until recently, Sunak was widely considered as the Conservative Party’s brightest emerging star, the most well-known of possible leadership candidates — and the bookies’ favorite to succeed Johnson.
The Indian-origin leader, on the other hand, faced criticism for not providing adequate cost-of-living assistance to homes, as well as a punishment for violating Covid-19 lockdown regulations with Johnson.
Sunak was also under fire after it was revealed that his wife, Akshata Murthy, evaded paying UK taxes on her offshore income and that he kept his US green card while serving in government.
Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy, was elected Conservative MP for Richmond (Yorks) in May 2015, marking his political debut.
He voted three times in support of Theresa May’s Brexit divorce agreement, and after she resigned, Sunak supported Boris Johnson’s candidacy to become Conservative leader.
Rishi Sunak worked as an analyst at a major investment firm from 2001 to 2004 before entering politics.
He also co-founded a significant investment firm that worked with businesses from Silicon Valley to Bangalore.
Rishi Sunak, the UK’s first Hindu chancellor of the exchequer, met Akshata while studying at Stanford University in California and married in August 2009.
