Rishi Sunak becomes the first British Asian UK Prime Minister

Rishi Sunak has become the first British Asian to be appointed Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury of the UK, it was announced today (25 October 2022). In this first speech he echoed the words of Mahatma Gandhi promising to bring compassion to the challenges faced by the country, and to deliver "a stronger NHS, better schools, safer streets, control of our borders, protecting our environment, supporting our armed forces and levelling up and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate, and create jobs."

“I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.

The government I lead will not leave the next generation, your children and grandchildren, with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves.

I will unite our country, not with words, but with action.

I will work day in and day out to deliver for you.

This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.

Trust is earned. And I will earn yours,” he added.

Biography

Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister on 25 October 2022. He was previously appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer from 13 February 2020 to 5 July 2022. He was Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 24 July 2019 to 13 February 2020, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 9 January 2018 to 24 July 2019. Rishi was elected Conservative MP for Richmond (Yorks) in May 2015 and served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from June 2017 until his ministerial appointment.

Rishi spent his professional career before politics in business and finance, working internationally. He co-founded an investment firm working with companies in multiple geographies. He then used that experience to help small and entrepreneurial British companies grow. Rishi went to Winchester College and studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. He was also a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University (USA) where he studied for his MBA.

Rishi is married to Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, a founder of the Indian multinational IT company Infosys, and Sudha Murthy. Rishi Sunak and his wife have two young daughters.