Rishi Sunak will become the next British Prime Minister….
He is the son of Indian immigrants…..
He’s got a mess to navigate and try to clean up…..
Rishi Sunak will become Britain’s next prime minister, prevailing in a chaotic Conservative Party leadership race on Monday after his remaining rival for the position, Penny Mordaunt, withdrew. He will be Britain’s third leader in seven weeks and the first prime minister of color in its history.
The 42-year-old former chancellor of the Exchequer who is the son of Indian immigrants, Mr. Sunak won the contest to replace the ousted Liz Truss, who resigned under pressure last Thursday after her economic agenda caused turmoil.
Boris Johnson, the prime minister before Ms. Truss, pulled out of the race on Sunday night, clearing a path for Mr. Sunak, who challenged Ms. Truss last summer but lost in a vote of the party’s members. As the only surviving candidate this time, Mr. Sunak was not subjected to another vote of the membership.
It was a head-spinning reversal of fortune for Mr. Sunak, whose resignation from Mr. Johnson’s cabinet in July set in motion the events that brought down his boss over a series of scandals and pitched Britain into weeks of political upheaval.
Here’s what to know about Mr. Sunak’s victory:
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It puts him in the pathbreaking category of Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister, and Benjamin Disraeli, its only Jewish prime minister. But it also puts him in office at an acutely difficult moment….
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Rishi Sunak is poised to make history as Britain’s first prime minister of color, a milestone for a polyglot nation that has become more ethnically diverse in recent decades, albeit one roiled by occasional anti-immigrant fervor.
Mr. Sunak, who rose swiftly from newbie member of Parliament to become chancellor of the Exchequer at age 39, was born in Southampton, on the southern English coast, to parents of Indian heritage who emigrated from British colonial East Africa six decades ago….
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His parents saved money to send him to Winchester College, one of Britain’s most elite and academically rigorous fee-paying schools. After graduating with a top degree from Oxford University and then attending Stanford University, he went on to make a fortune in finance, including a spell at Goldman Sachs, before winning a seat in Parliament in 2015, representing a constituency in Yorkshire.
He became chancellor in 2020, and his popularity surged during the Covid pandemic when the Treasury dispensed billions to save jobs and support struggling Britons.
While at Stanford, he met his future wife, Akshata Murty, a fashion designer whose father, Narayana Murthy, co-founded the technology giant Infosys and is one of India’s richest men. They have two children and, according to news media reports, own homes in London, Yorkshire and Santa Monica, Calif.
But Mr. Sunak’s meteoric rise slowed this year with revelations that Ms. Murty had limited her tax exposure in Britain. After the furor, and days of negative headlines, she volunteered to pay the extra tax. Mr. Sunak was also criticized when it emerged that he had retained a U.S. green card, which would allow him to live permanently in the United States. He gave it up before making his first visit to the country as chancellor last October….
image…NY Times