East Africa: The African Roots of the UK’s New Prime Minister
Sunak will become the troubled island-nation’s third leader in less than four months and will hope to calm the political and economic storms whipped up by his two predecessors, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.
He enters office in unprecedented circumstances – but that is not the only first for this prime minister.
Not only will he be the country’s first leader of colour, Sunak will be the first to have roots in Africa.
Sunak’s parents are both of Indian origin but were born in East Africa. His father, Yashvir Sunak, was raised in Kenya while his mother, Usha, was born in Tanzania.
The two emigrated to the UK in 1980. Yashvir worked as a doctor whilst Usha ran her own pharmacy.
Sunak attended an expensive private school before studying at Oxford University. He spent most of his career working as a hedge-fund manager.
He married the daughter of the Indian billionaire NR Narayana Murthy and together they amassed one of the greatest levels of wealth in the country.
He was appointed chancellor by Boris Johnson in 2020 but resigned and called for the prime minister to step down earlier this year.
He ran for prime minister after Johnson’s departure but lost to Liz Truss.
During his campaign, a video was leaked by the New Statesman of Sunak boasting to voters that he funnelled funds away from deprived areas and made sure they were sent instead to rich areas.
After Truss resigned on Thursday, it took the Conservative Party just four days to find its next leader in Sunak.
Since Truss’s humiliating resignation after just 44 days in office, clamour has grown for a general election.
After Truss was voted in by party members, Sunak will be the second prime minister in a row who has risen to the post without a general election first taking place.
By Scrolla.
