Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (/ˈrɪʃi ˈsuːnæk/ ⓘ;[1][2] born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2022. The first British Asian prime minister, he previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, latterly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015.
"Sunak" redirects here. For other uses, see Sunak (disambiguation).
Rishi Sunak
Liz Truss
Boris Johnson
Liz Truss
27,210 (47.2%)
12 May 1980
Southampton, Hampshire, England
2
- N. R. Narayana Murthy (father-in-law)
- Sudha Murty (mother-in-law)
- Rohan Murty (brother-in-law)
- 10 Downing Street, London
- Chequers, Aylesbury
- Kirby Sigston Manor, Kirby Sigston, North Yorkshire
Sunak was born in Southampton to parents of Indian descent who immigrated to Britain from East Africa in the 1960s. He was educated at Winchester College, studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, and earned an MBA from Stanford University in California as a Fulbright Scholar. During his time at Oxford University, Sunak undertook an internship at Conservative Central Office, and joined the Conservative Party. 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.
Sunak was elected to the House of Commons for Richmond in North Yorkshire at the 2015 general election. As a backbencher, Sunak supported the successful campaign for Brexit in the 2016 European Union membership referendum. Following the 2017 general election, Sunak was appointed to a junior ministerial position in Theresa May's second government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government in the 2018 cabinet reshuffle. He voted three times in favour of May's Brexit withdrawal agreement, which was rejected by Parliament three times, leading to May announcing her resignation. During the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election, Sunak supported Johnson's successful bid to succeed May as Conservative leader and prime minister, after which Johnson appointed Sunak as chief secretary to the Treasury in July 2019.
Following the 2019 general election, Johnson promoted Sunak to Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2020 cabinet reshuffle after the resignation of Sajid Javid. During his time in the position, 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 was also involved in the government's response to the cost of living crisis, UK energy supply crisis, and global energy crisis. Sunak resigned as chancellor in July 2022 amid a government crisis that culminated in Johnson's resignation.
Sunak stood in the July–September Conservative Party leadership election to succeed Johnson. He had received the most votes in each of the series of MP votes, but lost the members' vote to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. After spending the duration of Truss's premiership on the backbenches, Sunak was elected unopposed in the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election to succeed Truss, who resigned amid another government crisis; at 42, he became the youngest prime minister since Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool in 1812. Sunak took office amid the cost of living crisis and energy supply crisis that began during his chancellorship, as well as amid industrial disputes and strikes. He has authorised foreign aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion of the country.
Early life and education (1980–2001)
Sunak was born on 12 May 1980 in Southampton General Hospital in Southampton, Hampshire,[3][4] to East African-born Hindu parents of Indian Punjabi descent, Yashvir and Usha Sunak.[5][6][7] He attended Stroud School, a preparatory school in Romsey, and later studied at Winchester College as a dayboy, becoming head boy of the college.[8][9][10] He worked as a waiter in a curry house in Southampton during his summer holidays.[11][12] He read philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, graduating with a first in 2001.[10][13] During his time at university, he undertook an internship at Conservative Campaign Headquarters and joined the Conservative Party.[9] In 2006, Sunak earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford University as a Fulbright Scholar.[13][14][15] While at Stanford, he met his future wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys.[16]
Sunak's paternal grandfather was from Gujranwala (in present-day Pakistan[17][18]), while his maternal grandfather was from Ludhiana (in present-day India[19]); both cities at the time were in Punjab province, British India. His grandparents migrated to East Africa, and then to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.[20] His father, Yashvir Sunak, was born and raised in the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya (present-day Kenya), and is a general practitioner in the National Health Service. His mother, Usha Sunak, born in Tanganyika (which later became part of Tanzania), was a pharmacist and owned the Sunak Pharmacy in Southampton between 1995 and 2014, and has a degree from Aston University.[11][21] Sunak is the eldest of three siblings.[22] His brother, Sanjay (born 1982), is a psychologist and his sister, Raakhi Williams (born 1985), works in New York as chief of strategy and planning at the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies.[9][23]
Career
Business career (2001–2015)
Sunak worked as an analyst for the investment bank Goldman Sachs between 2001 and 2004.[13][24] He then worked for hedge fund management firm the Children's Investment Fund Management, becoming a partner in September 2006.[25] He left in November 2009[26] to join former colleagues in California at a new hedge fund firm, Theleme Partners, which launched in October 2010 with $700 million under management (equivalent to $978 million in 2023).[27][28][29] At both hedge funds, his boss was Patrick Degorce.[30] Sunak was also a director of the investment firm Catamaran Ventures, owned by his father-in-law, the Indian businessman N. R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys, between 2013 and 2015.[24][31]
