This is the first time the United Kingdom has had a non-white Prime Minister of foreign origin. Rishi Sunak, 42, was born in Southampton in the south of England and has degrees in philosophy, politics, economics and business administration. It was there that he met Akshata Murthy, daughter of Narayana Murthy, an Indian billionaire and co-founder of Infosys, a computer systems company. He worked in the world of finance for about ten years in early 2000, notably at Goldman Sachs.
He then entered politics and successfully campaigned to be elected MP in the north of England in 2015. A position he has since held unceasingly. Fervent supporter of the Brexit, he entered Theresa May’s government in January 2018 and did not leave until the summer of 2022, moving from under-secretary of state to Chancellor of the Exchequer (Minister of the Economy), after having held the position of number 2 in this ministry. On July 8, 2022, he resigned from his position to put pressure on Boris Johnson and force him to step down as Prime Minister.
If the origins of the first non-white British Prime Minister are often discussed, it is no less for religion, in a Protestant country. A question on which Rishi Sunak has already vented. “I am completely British, this is my home and my country, but my religious and cultural heritage is Indian, my wife is Indian. I am open about being Hindu,” he told the Business Standard, claiming not to eat beef.
On the economy, his proposals are still vague, with only a help announced for pensioners and the poorest. On the energy front, he is aiming for energy independence for the kingdom by 2045, wishing to focus on wind, solar and nuclear energy, while lowering VAT in this sector.
On the international front, Rishi Sunak announced this summer that he wanted to put a cap on the number of refugees accepted each year in Britain and to tighten the conditions for asylum applications. As for the war in Ukraine, he announced that he would “redouble our efforts and strengthen our policy of full support for Ukraine. An increase in the defense budget is also on his agenda.
Rishi Sunak is a strong supporter of Brexit. Unlike Liz Truss, who initially advocated for the UK to remain in the European Union, the new Prime Minister has always supported the country’s exit from the EU. “Brexit is a once-in-a-generation choice. When I see what happens in Silicon Valley or India, the speed at which things change, I tell myself that we need to have the flexibility and dexterity to adapt,” he had said, criticizing a slow organization, thus supporting the approach of Boris Johnson.
