Rishi Sunak! The new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK). While India was involved in bursting crackers and lighting up the sky during Diwali, Rishi Sunak also contributed to this celebration by becoming the UK PM on Monday, October 24, 2022. The celebrations for Diwali 2022 started off fantastically with India clinching a fabulous win against Pakistan in ICC World Cup T20 2022 on Sunday, October 23 and the UK getting its first Indian-origin PM the next day resulted in more celebrations.
The 42-year-old has scripted history by becoming the first Indian-origin UK PM and not to forget, the first PM of colour too. Having said that, who is Sunak? And is he really from India? #WhatTheFAQ is here to give details on these and a lot more.
How did this happen?
It all started in July 2022, when Sunak participated in the Conservative Party leadership race to replace Boris Johnson. The fight was between Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on July 20. Truss ended up becoming the new PM defeating Sunak.
Now, following the resignation of Truss on October 20 in the wake of high tax cuts, mini-budget and so on, the political fight was between Sunak, Boris Johnson and Penelope Mary Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons. With Johnson dropping out of the race and Sunak getting the support from Members of Parliament on October 22, he was declared as the new Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on October 23.
The highlight of his oath-taking was that he was the first Hindu-origin PM. Additionally, the MP from Yorkshire Sunak took oath on the Bhagavad Gita in Parliament and he was the first UK parliamentarian to take an oath on the Gita.
So, Punjab da putar becomes UK PM?
The 42-year-old was born on May 12, 1980, in Southampton, Hampshire to African-born Hindu parents of Indian descent, namely, Yashvir Sunka and Usha Sunak. While Yashvir was a National Health Service General Practitioner, Usha Sunak ran a chemist shop.
Having said that, how is the eldest son of the Sunak family of Indian origin? His roots can be traced to the Punjab province of British India as his grandparents lived there and migrated to the UK in the 1960s.
Paternal grandparents: Ramdas Sunak from Gujranwala (in present-day Pakistan) moved to Nairobi in 1935 to work as a clerk. In 1937, he married Suhag Rani Sunak from Delhi
Maternal grandparents: Raghubir Sain Berry MBE, worked in Tanganyika as a tax official and was married to Tanganyika-born Sraksha. In 1996, they along with their three children, moved to the UK and Raghubir joined the Inland Revenue, and as a collector, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1988.
Also, in 2009, Rishi married Akshata Murty, daughter of India's richest businessman and the Founder of the technology company Infosys NR Narayana Murthy who is married to Sudha Murthy, a well-known author, philanthropist and an Indian educator. Rishi Sunak and Akshata are blessed with two daughters: Krishna and Anoushka.
What is his educational and political history?
Sunak attended Stroud School and Winchester College where he was a head boy. During the summer holidays, he worked as a waiter at a curry house in Southampton. Later, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Lincoln College, Oxford. During his university time, he pursued an internship at Conservative Campaign Headquarters. Followed by securing an MBA from Stanford University in 2006 as a Fulbright Scholar. It was while pursuing his MBA that he met his wife, Akshata Murthy.
Political career
2015: Elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond in North Yorkshire
2015-17: Member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee
2016: At the June 2016 EU membership referendum, Sunak supported Brexit, that is, the UK leaving the European Union (EU), a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states
2017: Re-elected again and served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of state for local government between January 2018 and July 2019
2019: Appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson on July 24
2020: On February 13, promoted to Chancellor as part of a cabinet reshuffle
2022: Amid the government crisis, following Jhonson's resignation, on July 5 Sunak resigned as chancellor
What are the world leaders saying?
These are a few of the many leaders who took to Twitter to express their best wishes:
PM of India Narendra Modi: "As you become UK PM, I look forward to working closely together on global issues, and implementing Roadmap 2030."
European Council President Charles Michel: "Working together is the only way to face common challenges... and bringing stability is key to overcoming them."
Irish PM Micheál Martin said he is looking forward to working with Mr Sunak, "on the important issues we face on these islands and globally".
US President Biden described Mr Sunak's nomination as the UK's next prime minister as a "ground-breaking milestone"
What's in store for the Indian-origin PM?
Sunak now faces the enormous challenge of steering the UK economy through massive inflationary turbulence and also uniting the different wings of a divided Conservative Party. Moreover, during his campaigning for the PM post, he faced criticism for his lavish house, expensive suits and shoes. Also, he has a net worth of over 700 million pounds and is vested in properties in the UK. Apart from owning a mansion in Yorkshire, he owns a property in Kensington in Central London.
