86 Facts About Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak previously held two Cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, latterly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022.

Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton to parents of Indian descent who immigrated to Britain from East Africa in the 1960s.

Rishi Sunak was educated at Winchester College, studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, and earned a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University in California as a Fulbright Scholar.

Rishi Sunak was elected to the House of Commons at the 2015 general election.

Rishi Sunak was appointed to the junior ministerial position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government by Theresa May in 2019, and was appointed to the cabinet-attending role of Chief Secretary to the Treasury by Johnson in 2019.

In 2020, Rishi Sunak was promoted to Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Rishi Sunak resigned as chancellor in July 2022 amid a government crisis, and lost the subsequent leadership election to Liz Truss.

Rishi Sunak outlined five key priorities: halving inflation, growing the economy, cutting debt, reducing National Health Service waiting lists, and stopping the illegal small-boat crossings of the English Channel by enacting the Rwanda asylum plan.

Rishi Sunak did not avert further unpopularity for the Conservatives, reflected in the party's poor performances in the 2023 and 2024 local elections.

Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 2024 despite being widely expected to call the election in the autumn; the Conservatives lost this election in a landslide to the opposition Labour Party led by Keir Starmer, ending 14 years of Conservative government.

Rishi Sunak was succeeded by Kemi Badenoch, his Shadow Housing Secretary.

Rishi Sunak intends to remain as a backbench MP for the next five years.

Rishi Sunak was born on 12 May 1980 in Southampton General Hospital in Southampton, Hampshire, to Punjabi East African-born Hindu parents.

Rishi Sunak's father was born in the Kenya Colony in 1949, while his mother was born in the Tanganyika Territory.

Rishi Sunak attended Stroud School, a preparatory school in Romsey, and later studied at Winchester College as a dayboy, becoming head boy of the college.

Rishi Sunak worked as a waiter, at the curry house Kuti's Brasserie in Southampton, during his summer holidays.

Rishi Sunak read philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, graduating with a first in 2001.

In 2006 Rishi Sunak earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford University as a Fulbright Scholar.

Rishi Sunak's grandparents migrated to East Africa, and then to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.

Rishi Sunak's father was born and raised in the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, and was a general practitioner in the National Health Service.

Rishi Sunak's mother, born in Tanganyika, was a pharmacist who owned the Sunak Pharmacy in Southampton between 1995 and 2014, and has a degree from Aston University.

Rishi Sunak's brother is a psychologist and his sister works in New York as chief of strategy and planning at Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations Global Fund for Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises.

Rishi Sunak worked as an analyst for the investment bank Goldman Sachs between 2001 and 2004.

Rishi Sunak then worked for hedge fund management firm The Children's Investment Fund Management, becoming a partner in September 2006.

Rishi Sunak was selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond in October 2014.

Rishi Sunak was elected as MP for the constituency at the 2015 general election with a majority of 19,550.

Rishi Sunak was re-elected at the 2017 general election with an increased majority of 23,108.

Rishi Sunak was re-elected at the 2019 general election with an increased majority of 27,210.

Rishi Sunak was appointed to a junior ministerial position in May's second government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government in the 2018 cabinet reshuffle.

Rishi Sunak supported Boris Johnson's successful bid to succeed May in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election and co-wrote an article with fellow MPs Robert Jenrick and Oliver Dowden to advocate for Johnson during the campaign in June.

Rishi Sunak was appointed to the senior cabinet role of chief secretary to the Treasury by Johnson, serving under Sajid Javid.

Rishi Sunak became a member of the Privy Council the next day.

Rishi Sunak was promoted to chancellor to replace Javid as part of Johnson's first cabinet reshuffle later that day.

On 23 March 2020, as COVID-19 had become a pandemic and began rapidly spreading across the country, Rishi Sunak became prominent in the government's response to the pandemic and its economic impact.

On 20 March 2020, Rishi Sunak gave a statement on COVID-19, saying:.

In March 2021, Rishi Sunak announced that the scheme had been extended once more until September 2021.

Rishi Sunak presented his first budget, Delivering on Our Promises to the British People, on 11 March 2020.

Rishi Sunak was the first Chancellor to raise the corporation tax rate since Labour's Denis Healey in 1974.

In October 2021, Rishi Sunak made his third and final budget statement, which included substantial spending promises related to science and education.

Rishi Sunak made what would ultimately be his final budget, his spring statement, on 23 March 2022.

Rishi Sunak promised a reduction in income tax in 2024.

Rishi Sunak provided some funding which was intended to help vulnerable people cope with the cost of living.

Rishi Sunak was the second of 61 Conservative MPs to resign during the government crisis.

On 8 July 2022, Rishi Sunak announced his candidacy in the leadership election to replace Johnson.

Rishi Sunak launched his campaign in a video posted to social media, writing that he would "restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country".

Rishi Sunak said that his values were "patriotism, fairness, hard work", and pledged to "crack down on gender neutral language".

Rishi Sunak had received the most votes in each of the series of MP votes with Sunak receiving 137 to Truss's 113 in the final round.

Rishi Sunak announced her resignation on 20 October 2022 amid a government crisis, triggering a leadership contest.

At 42, Rishi Sunak became the youngest prime minister since Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, in 1812.

Rishi Sunak selected his cabinet ministers after his appointment as prime minister.

In February 2023, Rishi Sunak negotiated a proposed agreement with the EU on Northern Ireland's trading arrangements which was published as the Windsor Framework.

In 2019 the Conservative Party and Boris Johnson pledged to reduce net migration below 250,000 per year, but Rishi Sunak said in 2023 that the priority was not to reduce legal immigration but to stop illegal immigration.

Rishi Sunak continued the Rwanda asylum plan to have asylum seekers and illegal immigrants sent to Rwanda for processing.

On 12 December 2023 Rishi Sunak secured a government majority of 44 for the Safety of Rwanda Bill, despite the opposition of all other parties and abstentions from members of the European Research Group.

Rishi Sunak pledged the UK's support for Israel and declared that Israel "has an absolute right to defend itself".

Rishi Sunak backed calls for humanitarian pauses to allow for aid to be brought into Gaza, although he initially rejected calls for a full ceasefire as he argued that this would only benefit Hamas.

However, Rishi Sunak later condemned the high number of civilian casualties in Gaza and called for a "sustainable ceasefire" in which all Israeli hostages were returned to Israel, attacks against Israel ceased and humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza.

Rishi Sunak's government supported the two-state solution as a resolution to the conflict.

Rishi Sunak was faced with the task of rebuilding the Conservatives' reputation which had been significantly damaged by the controversies and scandals of the previous year and the Truss ministry.

Rishi Sunak contested his first local elections as leader on 4 May 2023, where the Conservatives suffered heavy losses.

Rishi Sunak's premiership was described as more stable than that of his two predecessors, while still not being able to represent a turnaround for the Conservatives.

Rishi Sunak sought to rebuild the Conservative's reputation following a slump in popularity after the short-lived Truss ministry and a slew of controversies including Partygate that irreparably damaged Johnson's ministry, through campaigning on stabilising the economy, the Rwanda asylum plan, further strengthening the State Pension, and introducing National Service.

Rishi Sunak stated during the general election campaign that if his party lost the election he intended to remain as a backbench MP for the next 5 years.

On 6 June 2024, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Rishi Sunak was heavily criticised for leaving commemoration events early to do an interview with ITV, including by veterans.

Rishi Sunak offered support to the incoming prime minister Keir Starmer, saying he was "a decent, public-spirited man" he respected and expressed hope he would be successful.

Rishi Sunak appointed new officeholders to the portfolios held by the eleven cabinet ministers who lost their seats in the election, including Edward Argar, who became shadow justice secretary after the outgoing justice secretary Alex Chalk lost his seat, as well as Helen Whately, who became shadow transport secretary after the outgoing transport secretary Mark Harper lost his seat.

Rishi Sunak remained leader until his successor, Kemi Badenoch, was elected in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election, after which he returned to the backbenches.

On proposals to change planning laws, Rishi Sunak said that though such changes were needed "a system that does not allow local people to have a say will damage public consent for more housing in the long term".

In that same speech, Rishi Sunak summarized the rapid trajectory of his political career:.

Rishi Sunak has been described as a moderate within his party with a technocratic or managerial leadership style.

Rishi Sunak opposed the economic policies of Truss, and although described as a fellow Thatcherite, he is viewed as less economically liberal than Truss.

Various polls showed Rishi Sunak remained overwhelmingly popular among Conservative supporters and many other Britons throughout 2020.

Public attitudes towards Rishi Sunak remained broadly positive in 2021, though his popularity declined steadily over time.

Rishi Sunak's father-in-law is the founder of the technology company Infosys, in which Murty owns a stake.

The independent adviser on ministers' interests investigated and concluded that Rishi Sunak had not broken any rules.

An investigation into both his wife's tax status and his residency status found that Rishi Sunak had not broken any ministerial rules.

In January 2023, Rishi Sunak was issued a fixed penalty notice by Lancashire Constabulary after a social media video of him failing to wear a seat belt in a moving vehicle was published.

Rishi Sunak apologised for the incident and said he made a "brief error of judgment".

Rishi Sunak stated in 2022 that he had seven dental fillings due to excessive consumption of Coca-Cola when he was younger, and expressed a strong preference for Mexican Coke.

Rishi Sunak was previously a governor of the East London Science School.

Rishi Sunak has a Labrador called Nova and is a cricket and horse racing enthusiast.

Rishi Sunak is a close friend of The Spectator former political editor James Forsyth, whom he has known since their school days.

Rishi Sunak was the best man at Forsyth's wedding to the journalist Allegra Stratton, and they are godparents to each other's children.

Rishi Sunak appointed Forsyth as his political secretary in December 2022.

Rishi Sunak is a Hindu and identifies as British Indian, stating that he is "thoroughly British" but with an Indian religious and cultural heritage.

Rishi Sunak took his oath as an MP at the House of Commons on the Bhagavad Gita.