New leader of Britain's Conservative Party Rishi Sunak waves outside the party's headquarters in London, Britain, Oct. 24, 2022. (Reuters)Rishi Sunak, an Indian-origin British lawmaker, is set to take charge as Britain’s next Prime Minister from outgoing PM Liz Truss on Tuesday. Sunak will be the country’s first leader of colour after he was chosen to lead the Conservative Party on Monday evening. He will take charge after meeting King Charles III who will invite him to form the government. The 42-year-old investment-banker-turned politician will then address the nation as the Prime Minister for the first time at around 4 pm IST.
Sunak is the first non-Christian person to occupy the Prime Minister’s post and one of the wealthiest of all his predecessors, with his fortune reportedly exceeding that of the royal family. He came to his post after winning the Conservative Party leadership race by default as his competitors, former prime minister Boris Johnson and House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt stood aside.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sunak and said he looks forward to working together with him to transform the India-UK ties into a modern partnership. Sunak’s father-in-law and Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy wished him success. Sunak is married to Narayana Murthy’s daughter Akshata Murthy and the couple have two daughters – Krishna, 11, and Anoushka, 9.
Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murthy married in 2009 and have two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka. (Instagram/rishisunakmp)
➡️ Rishi Sunak will take charge as Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister after an audience with King Charles III.
➡️ Outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss will chair her final Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning (around 1.30 pm Indian time).
➡️ Liz Truss will then address the media (at around 2.45 pm Indian time) and make her way to Buckingham Palace to formally tender her resignation.
➡️ Sunak, 42, will then arrive at the palace for his meeting with the King, who will formally anoint him as the UK's new Prime Minister.
➡️ The former chancellor will then make his first prime ministerial address on the steps of 10 Downing Street at around 4 pm Indian time. He is expected to be joined by wife Akshata Murty and daughters Krishna and Anoushka.
With Rishi Sunak set to take over as the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said he looks forward to working together with him to transform the India-UK ties into a modern partnership.
In a congratulatory message on Twitter, Modi also offered his “special Diwali wishes” to the “living bridge of UK Indians”. A conservative MP, who has also served as the treasurer to the exchequer, Sunak will be the first UK PM of Indian-origin.
N R Narayana Murthy, co-founder of the Indian information technology bellwether firm Infosys Ltd, congratulated his son-in-law Rishi Sunak on Monday for ascending to the post of Prime Minister of Britain. Murthy said he was confident Sunak would “do his best” for the country.
“Congratulations to Rishi. We are proud of him and we wish him success. We are confident he will do his best for the people of the United Kingdom,” Murthy said in a brief statement after it became clear that Sunak, 42, would be Britain’s next Prime Minister.
Sunak is married to Narayana Murthy’s daughter Akshata Murthy and the couple have two daughters – Krishna, 11, and Anoushka, 9.
Rishi Sunak will become Britain’s next prime minister after he won the race to lead the Conservative Party, leaving him with the task of steering a deeply divided country through an economic downturn set to leave millions of people poorer.
Sunak, one of the wealthiest politicians in Westminster and set to be the country’s first leader of colour, will be asked to form a government by King Charles, replacing Liz Truss, the outgoing leader who only lasted 44 days in the job before she resigned.