Rishi Sunak: Who is the UK's new prime minister?
- Published
- comments
Who is our new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak?
The UK has a new prime minister: Rishi Sunak.
He's the MP for Richmond in Yorkshire, and he's the United Kingdom's first British Asian leader.
He used to look after the country's money in a position known as the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
But what else do we know about the UK's 57th PM? Read on to find out!
Watch: Rishi Sunak's first speech as PM
Early life
Mr Sunak's parents are both Indian, and moved to the UK from east Africa.
He was born in Southampton in 1980. His father was a GP and his mother ran her own pharmacy.
Rishi Sunak visiting the pharmacy his family used to own
He attended the exclusive private school Winchester College, then went to Oxford University.
He met his wife Akshata Murty, who comes from a very wealthy family, while studying in America at Stanford University. The couple have two daughters.
Age: 42
Place of birth: Southampton
Home: London and Yorkshire
Education: Winchester College, Oxford University, Stanford University
Family: Married to businesswoman Akshata Murty with two daughters
Parliamentary constituency: Richmond (Yorkshire)
In politics
Rishi Sunak became an MP (member of Parliament) for the Conservative party in 2015.
He became a junior minister in previous PM Theresa May's government, before climbing up the ranks to chief secretary to the Treasury.
Boris Johnson was Rishi Sunak's boss
His old boss Prime Minister Boris Johnson then made Mr Sunak his chancellor in February 2020.
This meant he was put in charge of how the country receives money, and how it spends it.
When the UK was given a vote on whether or not it wanted to stay in the European Union, Rishi Sunak campaigned for the Leave side.
Rishi Sunak outside the chancellor's residence, number 11 Downing Street
He said that leaving the big group of European countries would make the UK "freer, fairer and more prosperous", and also said he wanted the country to have more control over immigration - which means the amount of people coming to live in our country.
In July 2022, he resigned from Boris Johnson's team, which contributed to the downfall of Mr Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister.
He looked after the UK's finances during the Covid-19 pandemic
Within weeks of becoming chancellor, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK and the world, and that became Rishi Sunak's top priority.
One of his most popular policies was the 'Eat Out To Help Out' scheme, which gave people discounts at restaurants.
Rishi Sunak even did some table-waiting himself
He did it to help restaurant owners who were losing money as a result of the pandemic, but it was later criticised for leading to a big rise in covid infections.
He was fined during the 'Partygate' scandal
Last year, it was revealed that while the country was in lockdown, parties were happening in Number 10 Downing Street.
Lots of these parties happened when the rules said they weren't allowed. The then prime minister Boris Johnson got in a lot of trouble for being at some of them.
But so did Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor - he was present for a gathering at Number 10 on 19 June 2020, and was later fined for it.
He's a multi-millionaire
Mr Sunak with his wife and two daughters
Rishi Sunak is thought to be one of the richest MPs in the UK, although he's never publicly said how much money he has.
He became the first leading UK politician to join a list of the richest people in the country, along with his wife - they are the 222nd richest people in the UK according to newspaper The Sunday Times, as together they have 拢730 million.
What do you think of the UK's new Prime Minister? Let us know in the comments!
- Published6 September 2022
- Published28 February 2022
