Rishi Sunak, the former finance minister, is one of the favorites to replace Boris Johnson as the next British prime minister. Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid have reportedly resigned over Johnson’s handling of ethical scandals, including a senior official’s case of sexual misconduct.
42-year-old Rishi Sunak may become the first Prime Minister of Britain of Indian origin.
Who is Rishi Sunak?
Sunak, the son of a pharmacist mother and National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner (GP) father, was born in the UK. He is a graduate of Oxford University and Stanford.
He is married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, and the couple has two young daughters, Krishna and Anoushka.
Rishi Sunak became an MP for the first time in 2015. He was elected from Richmond, Yorkshire. Sunak quickly rose through the ranks of the Conservative Party and supported for ‘Brexit’. He was one of Boris Johnson’s supporters during his ‘Leave the EU’ campaign.
Read | UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak admits to attending PM Boris Johnson’s lockdown party in 2020
Sunak made history in February 2020 when he was appointed to Britain’s most important cabinet post – Chancellor of the Exchequer. He gained popularity during the pandemic for his economic package to aid businesses and employees.
The package included a job retention programme, which reportedly prevented mass unemployment in the UK.
However, his popularity took a hit after the ‘PartyGate’ scandal – a violation of COVID rules and lockdown parties in government offices – and he was one of the officers fined by the London Police.
Sunak also faced criticism for the non-domicant tax status of his wealthy wife. The tax status allows a person who was born in another country, or if their parents are from another country, in the UK to pay tax only on their UK income. This system allows foreign immigrants to enjoy all the benefits of living in the UK, while paying very little in UK taxes as they make up the bulk, if not all, of their income overseas.
Ever since he took over as chancellor, there has been speculation in the UK media about Sunak taking the top job. In what may happen, the UK will have a new prime minister in office from October and Sunak could become the first Indian-origin person to head the country and the party.
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