Ever since the second half of the 2022, the world has been hearing the news of the continuous turmoil in the British Politics and for time and again the name of Rishi Sunak too got much of the attention in the global media. Now, the question arises that how Rishi Sunak’s name became so popular in the political passages of the United Kingdom. Moreover, another big question is that why is this particular name grabbing so much of attention around the world?
Politicians come and go, some of them who are worthy obtains the chance to take oaths as ministers while the others do not, these are all some of the known facts in the politics around the world. When a Minister, be it an influential Cabinet Minister or even the Prime Minister of the nation resigns then someone else takes the oaths and fills the gap. It is indeed as simple as this around the world, so why this time it seems so different in the British Politics, when Rishi Sunak filled the vacant Prime Minister’s seat.
Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister (PM) of the United Kingdom, who recently filled the vacant position in the British Prime Minister Office, was born on 12 May 1980 in Southampton, Hampshire to African born Hindu parents of Indian Punjabi descent, Yashvir and Usha Sunak. If we dig into the early days of Rishi Sunak then we can see him as a bright student right from his school days. He attended Stroud School, a preparatory school in Romsey and Winchester College, a boys’ independent boarding school, where he was the head boy!
While growing up he had his own hustles as he also served as a waiter at a curry house in Southampton during his summer holidays. He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, graduating with a first in 2001. During his time at university, he undertook an internship at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters. In 2006, he gained an MBA from Stanford University, where he was a Fulbright scholar. While at Stanford, he met his future wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys. Sunak and his wife were the 222nd richest people in Britain, with a combined fortune estimated at £730 million as of 2022. After graduating, Sunak worked for Goldman Sachs and later as a partner at the hedge fund firms The Children’s Investment Fund Management and Theleme Partners.
Well, before taking over as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and becoming the Leader of the Conservative Party. Rishi Sunak had a pretty interesting political carrier as Sunak served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022 and Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020, and he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015. Sunak was elected to the House of Commons for Richmond in North Yorkshire at the 2015 general election, succeeding William Hague. Interestingly, Sunak also went ahead to supported the ‘Brexit’ in the 2016 referendum on EU membership. He was appointed to Theresa May’s second government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government in the 2018 reshuffle. He voted three times in favour of May’s Brexit withdrawal agreement. After May resigned, Sunak supported Boris Johnson’s campaign to become Conservative leader!
Later, when Johnson became Prime Minister, Sunak was appointed as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Sunak replaced Sajid Javid as Chancellor of the Exchequer after Javid’s resignation in the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle. As Chancellor, Sunak was prominent in the government’s financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, including the Coronavirus Job Retention and Eat Out to Help Out schemes. He resigned as chancellor in July 2022, followed by Johnson’s resignation amid a government crisis. Sunak stood in the Conservative party leadership election to replace Johnson, and lost the members’ vote to Liz Truss. After Truss’s resignation amid another government crisis, Sunak was elected unopposed as Leader of the Conservative Party.
Well, all these remarkable political achievements by this young man lead him right to the job of managing the British Prime Minister Office. Rishi Sunak was appointed as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 25th of October 2022, becoming the first British Asian & a Hindu to hold that position in the history of the English Politics. His journey is truly inspiring for the whole world and especially for those Indians, who goes out to foreign countries with the hope of creating something huge for themselves & achieving their dreams!
Written By NEEL PREET – Author of the Books, Voice From The East (2016); Journey With Time Place And Circumstances (2018) & Indian Defence Files (2021).
