Rishi Sunak 'honoured' to be appointed as UK’s new Finance Minister

Indian-origin British MP Rishi Sunak said that he is “honoured” to be appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer after he replaced Sajid Javid as UK's next Finance Minister. Taking to Twitter, Sunak said that his predecessor, Sajid Javid, did a fantastic job in his time at the Treasury and was a “pleasure to work with”.

“I hope to be able to build on his great work going forward,” tweeted Sunak.

The 39-year-old parliamentarian, who has served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, is married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of Infosys co-founder and billionaire Narayana Murthy. The former Goldman Sachs banker studied at Winchester College, Oxford, and Stanford University and was later elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) from Richmond, North Yorkshire. He became a housing minister in 2018 and was promoted as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury last July. 

He co-founded a global investment firm and specialised in investing in small British businesses before his entry into politics and strongly believes that small businesses in the UK would flourish as a result of Brexit as the vast majority of British businesses don't have anything to do with the EU but they are still subject to all EU law. Sunak was appointed as Finance Minister after Prime Minister Boris Johnson reshuffled the cabinet and Sajid Javid resigned unexpectedly.

Read: UK's Boris Johnson Shakes Up Government With Cabinet Shuffle

Three Indian-origin members in cabinet

The British cabinet has three lawmakers of Indian-origin including Alok Sharma and Priti Patel. Sharma has been elevated to the role of secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy while Patel has been serving as Home Secretary. Sharma will also be the president of the COP26, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), scheduled for November in Glasgow.

Read: UK: Rishi Sunak Appointed As Treasury Chief By PM Boris Johnson In Cabinet Reshuffle

Johnson has been aiming to tighten his grip on the government after winning a big parliamentary majority in December’s election allowing him to move out of European Union, his key election promise. "The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Rishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Exchequer," Downing Street said in an official statement.

Read: Priti Patel, Alok Sharma And Rishi Sunak: 3 Indian-origin Ministers In UK PM Boris Johnson's Cabinet

Read: UK: Rishi Sunak Appointed As Chancellor Of The Exchequer, Netizens Divided