As Boris Johnson has announced his departure from the U.K. prime minister race, Rishi Sunak is set to be Britain’s new prime minister following the resignation of Liz Truss.
The Deseret News reported that alongside Johnson, former defense secretary Penny Mordaunt was another likely candidate for the role. Despite being named as an option, Mordaunt is no longer being considered as she decided to step out of the race, according to the BBC.
So who is Rishi Sunak?
Rishi Sunak would be the first person of color to be Britain’s prime minister
Sunak is the son of Indian immigrants and, at 42 years old, is set to be the youngest person — and the first person of color — to become Britain’s prime minister.
Sunak is married to Indian tech heiress Akshata Murty, whose tax dealings brought some political heat on him during his campaign.
With a very impressive resume, Sunak attended and received diplomas from the University of Oxford and Stanford University. He also spent some time at the Goldman Sachs investment bank, according to The Washington Post.
NPR reported that Sunak first entered Parliament in 2015 after working in banking for many years and Johnson appointed him as finance minister in 2020.
Sunak then went on to lead the movement to oust Johnson out of his former role as prime minister due to scandals that came to light about the former premier.
When will Sunak officially become prime minister?
CNN reported that Sunak is preparing to take over the premiership as Truss is getting her affairs in order.
The outgoing prime minister will visit King Charles III to officially resign from the role. After Charles accepts her resignation, he will then welcome Sunak to meet with him and have Sunak form a government as his first priority.
Though Sunak is not officially prime minister yet, Truss has already congratulated him on Twitter for his appointment to the role and as the new leader of the Conservative Party.