Rishi Sunak on Tuesday became Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister after meeting King Charles III. It was the third time this year that the British Prime Minister has changed. Sunak is the youngest Prime Minister of the UK in over two centuries and he took the charge a day after he was appointed the new leader of the Conservative Party in a historic leadership run. The 42-year-old came to Buckingham Palace for his conference with the King after outgoing PM Liz Truss chaired her final Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street. She then submitted her resignation to the 73-year-old monarch.
"I will unite our country -- not with words, but with action," the former finance minister said, pledging also unstinting support for Ukraine even while warning of "difficult" budget choices ahead. Sunak said a disastrous budget that felled Truss was motivated by a well-intentioned desire to kick-start growth, but its tax-cutting measures were "mistakes nonetheless".
"And I have been elected as leader of my party and your prime minister in part to fix them," he said. "And that work begins immediately. I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government's agenda."
Sunak, who portrays himself as a "proud Hindu", is the UK's first Prime Minister of South Asian heritage. Sunak's success made the festival of Diwali happier for Indians and has resonated among the Indian diaspora groups across the UK, who have celebrated it as a "historic moment" in British political history. Liz Truss resigned from the post in a very short period of 45 days of taking charge following economic turmoil and the resignation of two key ministers. After which Sunak became the PM of the UK. Liz Truss became the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history - less than 50 days.
Liz Truss said in the statement from her office, "At a time of great economic and international instability, Britain has been held back for too long by low economic growth."
The former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sunak graduated from the University of Oxford Stanford University and had a stint at Goldman Sachs Investment bank. He was born in Southampton on May 12, 1980. His family has immigrant roots and his parents Yashvir and Usha, both pharmacists, migrated to the UK from East Africa and have roots in Punjab. Sunak's paternal grandparents came from a place called Gujranwala, now in Pakistan. He is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of NR Narayana Murthy, co-founder of the IT company Infosys. The couple got married in the year 2009 and have two daughters, Anoushka and Krishna.
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