(Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Biography, Age, wiki, wife, Family, Children, Name, Date of Birth, Family, Height, Career, Nick Name, Net Worth)
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Rishi Sunak Biography
Rishi Sunak was born on May 12, 1980, in Southampton, England, to a family with deep immigrant roots. His grandparents hailed from Punjab in northwestern India and later moved to East Africa, where his parents were born—his mother in Tanzania and his father in Kenya. Eventually, his parents settled in Southampton in the 1960s.
His father became a general practitioner for the National Health Service (NHS), and his mother owned and operated a small pharmacy. As the eldest of three children, Sunak often helped his mother with bookkeeping for the family business, an experience that would shape his values and later resonate in his political career.
Thanks to his parents’ hard work and savings, Sunak was able to attend the prestigious Winchester College, a private school that had produced several former chancellors of the Exchequer. Sunak excelled academically, becoming head boy and editing the school’s newspaper.
During his summer vacations, he worked as a waiter at an Indian restaurant in Southampton. Later, he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he also served as president of the Oxford Trading & Investment Society and interned at the Conservative Party headquarters.
Career Beginnings and Education
After graduating from Oxford in 2001, Sunak began his career as an analyst with Goldman Sachs, where he worked until 2004. He then pursued an MBA as a Fulbright scholar at Stanford University. It was here that he met Akshata Murthy, daughter of Narayana Murthy, co-founder of the Indian tech giant Infosys.
They married in 2009 and have two daughters. Upon his return to the UK in 2006, Sunak joined the hedge fund Children’s Investment Fund Management, becoming a partner in 2008, before moving to another hedge fund, Theleme Partners.
His success in finance, coupled with his wife’s substantial stake in Infosys, helped the couple amass an estimated fortune of £730 million ($877 million) by 2022.
Political Rise in the Conservative Party
In 2010, Sunak began working with the Conservative Party and became involved with Policy Exchange, a Conservative think tank. In 2014, he was chosen as the Conservative candidate for the Richmond seat in North Yorkshire, a Conservative stronghold formerly held by William Hague, a former party leader.
Sunak was elected in 2015 with a commanding majority, quickly establishing himself as a committed Euroskeptic. He strongly supported the Brexit movement, believing it would lead to a “freer, fairer, and more prosperous” United Kingdom.
Early Roles and Brexit
Between 2015 and 2017, Sunak served on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee and held a position as parliamentary private secretary in the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.
He later became undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government. During Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign, Sunak became one of his key supporters and, in return, was promoted to chief secretary to the Treasury in 2019.
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In February 2020, Sunak became Chancellor of the Exchequer after Sajid Javid’s resignation. At just 39 years old, he was the fourth youngest person ever to hold this position. Shortly after his appointment, he faced one of the UK’s biggest challenges in decades: the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sunak introduced sweeping economic relief programs, dedicating £330 billion ($400 billion) in emergency funds and salary subsidies to support businesses and workers. His “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme, which subsidized restaurant and pub bills, was both popular and controversial, with some blaming it for a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Sunak’s handling of the pandemic won him public approval, earning him the nickname “Dishy Rishi” for his composed demeanor and polished image. However, his reputation was later tainted by revelations about his wife’s tax status, which allowed her to avoid UK taxes on overseas income.
Although this was legal, it cast Sunak in a negative light, and his patriotism was questioned when it was revealed that he had held a U.S. green card until late 2021.
Resignation and Conservative Leadership Race
In July 2022, Sunak resigned from Johnson’s cabinet amid controversies surrounding the prime minister’s handling of allegations against Conservative deputy chief whip Chris Pincher. Sunak’s resignation, along with Health Secretary Sajid Javid’s, sparked a wave of opposition that eventually led to Johnson’s resignation.
Sunak then launched his own bid for Conservative Party leadership. Despite garnering significant support among MPs, he lost to Liz Truss, who won the vote of the Conservative membership with 57.4% to his 42.6%.
Premiership of the United Kingdom
Truss’s tenure as prime minister lasted only six weeks. Her economic policies, including unfunded tax cuts and a two-year energy price cap, led to a financial crisis. After Truss’s resignation, Sunak was elected as the Conservative Party leader and prime minister, taking office on October 25, 2022. He inherited a Conservative Party with historically low popularity due to Truss’s brief and turbulent leadership.
As prime minister, Sunak made efforts to restore stability and confidence. He passed the Windsor Framework in March 2023, regulating post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland, and worked to balance the UK’s relationships with the European Union and Northern Ireland.
However, his government continued to face criticism and challenges, including internal Conservative divisions and opposition to his policies.
Final Years and Resignation
In November 2023, Sunak faced additional controversies, including the sacking of Home Secretary Suella Braverman. By early 2024, Labour’s popularity had surged, and in a general election in July 2024, Labour leader Keir Starmer won a landslide victory. Sunak subsequently resigned, marking the end of his term as prime minister.
Legacy
Rishi Sunak’s legacy as prime minister is marked by his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as chancellor, his resilience in turbulent political times, and his role as the first person of color and first Hindu to lead the UK. Despite controversies, Sunak’s tenure is remembered for his historic representation in British politics, his financial expertise, and his efforts to stabilize the government following a period of political instability.
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