ANS: Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He met with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, who accepted the resignation of Liz Truss. In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch plays a ceremonial role in appointing government leaders.
In his first address to the nation, from the steps of 10, Downing Street, Sunak said that “mistakes were made” by his predecessor Liz Truss’ administration and that he would fix them, admitting that the U.K. faces a “profound economic crisis.”
“That work begins immediately,” Sunak said. “I will unite our country not with words but with action,” added Sunak, saying that his priorities would be “a stronger NHS, better schools, safer streets, control of our borders, protecting our environment, supporting our armed forces and levelling up.”
During a farewell speech earlier, Liz Truss defended her legacy of trying to push through tax cuts and said leaders needed to be bold.
Sunak at the age of 42 is the youngest British leader in more than 200 years; it the United Kingdom’s first Indian-origin PM. He married Akshata Murthy daughter of Billionaire businessman Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys.
Sunak expected to immediately begin appointing a Cabinet and getting to grips with an economy sliding toward recession. The third Conservative Prime Minister this year, he will also try to unite a governing party that is riven with divisions.
He was selected as leader of the governing Conservative Party yesterday as it tries to stabilize the economy, and its own plunging popularity, after the brief, disastrous term of Liz Truss.