The United Kingdom will have its third prime minister in just three months after Liz Truss stepped down, and Rishi Sunak steps up to the plate.
The 42-year-old won the Conservative leadership ballot after Penny Mordaunt and former prime minister Boris Johnson, who resigned in July, dropped out of the race.
He will become the UK’s first South Asian prime minister and is expected to be inaugurated today, according to reports.
In a closed-door speech after the contest, Mr Sunak rejected calls for an early general election.
Despite calls from the rivalling Labour Party for an early election, Mr Sunak has ruled out that possibility, stating the need to bring the Conservative Party and the country together during a tough period, according to BBC.
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Govt on Flickr
Lines had been drawn during and after Mr Johnson’s stint as prime minister, and they continued during Ms Truss’s ill-fated 44 days in charge.
Mr Johnson also dropped out of the ballot after he admitted that he could not unite the party, which won the last general election in 2019.
Mr Sunak will now be tasked to stabilise the UK’s economy after Ms Truss’s economic policies triggered a sharp fall in the pound.
The outgoing prime minister tweeted her congratulations to her fellow party member following the news and offered her “full support”.
Source: Liz Truss on Twitter
Mr Sunak was previously the UK’s finance minister under Mr Johnson from 2020 to 2022 and worked as a hedge fund manager before entering politics in 2014.
He and his wife, Akshata Murty, are known to be some of Britain’s richest people.
Mr Sunak will also have the distinction of being Britain’s youngest prime minister in over 200 years, as well as being the first prime minister of Indian descent.
He’ll meet King Charles III today before being formally coronated, and his next job will be to form a government following turmoil over the past few months.
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Featured image adapted from Number 10 Downing Street on Flickr.
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