Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy, was appointed United Kingdom’s new finance minister on Thursday, shortly after Sajid Javid resigned just weeks following Brexit.
The post of the Chancellor of the Exchequer is effectively a promotion for 39-year-old Rishi Sunak, who had been holding the post of Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
The big change came as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reshuffled his cabinet just a month before the government's annual budget.
Here's what you need to know about Rishi Sunak:
- First elected to British parliament in 2015, Sunak previously served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the second-in-command to the finance minister, overseeing public spending.
- Sunak attended the prestigious Winchester College before going on to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. He also has an MBA from Stanford University in the United States.
- Sunak's father was a doctor and his mother ran a chemist shop. Before entering politics, he worked for investment bank Goldman Sachs and a hedge fund.
- He co-founded a 1-billion pound global investment firm and specialised in investing in small British businesses. He strongly believes that small businesses in the UK would flourish as a result of Brexit as the vast majority of British businesses (94 per cent) don't have anything to do with the EU; but they are still subject to all EU law.
- "From working in my mum's tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future," Sunak had said during the Brexit referendum.
- His wife is Akshata, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. The couple have two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka.
- Seen as a rising star in the Conservative Party he is regularly put forward by the government to do media interviews, and stood in for Johnson in some televised debates during last year's election campaign.
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