Rishi Sunak Becomes the First British PM of Asian Descent

London, MINA – Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak will become Britain’s first Asian prime minister after winning the race for leadership of the ruling Conservative Party on Monday, Anadolu Agency reported.

Penny Mordaunt, another Conservative candidate, dropped out of the race minutes before the nomination deadline.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Committee in 1922, in his brief statement confirmed that Sunak was the new leader.

He announced that the committee had only received one application, namely from Sunak.

Sunak, 42, was a former finance minister in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet in 2020.

He was greeted by cheering lawmakers and staff at Conservative Party Headquarters, where he gave a brief statement after being elected.

The future prime minister paid tribute to his predecessor Liz Truss, and said he was “humbled and honored” to have the support of his parliamentary colleagues and be elected leader of the Conservative Party.

“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be able to serve a party I love and give back to the country that I owe so much to,” he said.

“Britain is a great country but no doubt we face huge economic challenges,” said Sunak.

“We now need stability and unity. And I will make it my top priority to unite our party and our country. Because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better, more prosperous future for our children and grandchildren,” he added.

“I promise that I will serve you with integrity and humility, and I will work day by day, to provide service to the British people.”

Sunak was born in Southampton to Indian parents who came to England from East Africa. His father was a doctor and his mother owned a pharmacy. He is married and has two children.

In his time as finance minister during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sunak designed and implemented an extensive program of economic support for the country that ran into the hundreds of billions of pounds, supporting employers and employees with government funds.

The Tory leadership contest was sparked after the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss last week after just six weeks in government office, following turmoil in the economy due to the budget crisis.

Earlier, Mordaunt, Sunak’s rival, withdrew from the contest to elect the prime minister and said: “Rishi has my full support”. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)