- Wikipedia

Ministerial portfolios 2018‍–‍2024\n

Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 13 February 2020 \u2013 5 July 2022
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Sajid Javid
Succeeded by	Nadhim Zahawi
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office 24 July 2019 \u2013 13 February 2020
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Liz Truss
Succeeded by	Steve Barclay
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
2018\u20132019	Local Government\n

Member of Parliament
for Richmond and Northallerton

Richmond (Yorks) (2015\u20132024)

Incumbent

Assumed office
7 May 2015

Preceded by

William Hague

Majority

12,185 (25.1%)^[1]

Personal details

Born

12 May 1980 (age 44)
Southampton, Hampshire, England

Political party

Conservative

Spouse

Akshata Murty

(m. 2009)

Children

Relatives

N. R. Narayana Murthy (father-in-law)
Sudha Murty (mother-in-law)
Rohan Murty (brother-in-law)

Education

Signature

$\"\"$

Website

rishisunak.com

Rishi Sunak's voice

Sunak's first speech as prime minister
Recorded 25 October 2022

Rishi Sunak^[a] (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024. He was Leader of the Conservative Party from October 2022 to November 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's Labour Party in the 2024 general election, he became Leader of the Opposition, serving in this role from July to November 2024. He previously held two Cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, latterly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond and Northallerton, previously Richmond (Yorks), since 2015.\n

Sunak was born in Southampton to parents of Indian descent who immigrated to Britain from East Africa in the 1960s. He was educated at Winchester College, studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, and earned a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University in California as a Fulbright Scholar. During his time at Oxford University, Sunak undertook an internship at Conservative Central Office, and joined the Conservatives. After graduating, Sunak worked for Goldman Sachs and later as a partner at the hedge fund firms the Children's Investment Fund Management and Theleme Partners. Sunak was elected to the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. As a backbencher, Sunak supported the successful campaign for Brexit in the 2016 European Union membership referendum. Sunak was appointed to the junior ministerial position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government by Theresa May in 2019, and was appointed to the cabinet-attending role of Chief Secretary to the Treasury by Johnson in 2019.\n

In 2020, Sunak was promoted to Chancellor of the Exchequer. During his time in the position, Sunak was prominent in the government's financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, including the furlough and Eat Out to Help Out schemes, and was also prominent in the government's response to the cost-of living crisis. As chancellor, Sunak received high approval and popularity ratings in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, although his popularity later declined amid the cost-of living crisis in 2022. He resigned as chancellor in July 2022 amid a government crisis that culminated in Johnson's resignation, and stood in the leadership election to succeed him. He received the most votes in each of the series of MP votes, but lost the members' vote to Liz Truss. After spending the duration of Truss's premiership on the backbenches, Sunak was elected unopposed in the leadership election to succeed Truss, who resigned amid another government crisis; aged 42 at the time he became prime minister, Sunak became the youngest prime minister since The Earl of Liverpool in 1812.\n

During his premiership, Sunak attempted to improve the economy and stabilise national politics. He outlined five key priorities: halving inflation, growing the economy, cutting debt, reducing National Health Service waiting lists, and stopping the illegal small-boat crossings of the English Channel by enacting the Rwanda asylum plan. On foreign policy, Sunak authorised foreign aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion of the country, and pledged support for Israel after the attacks which began the Israel\u2013Hamas war whilst later calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He did not avert further unpopularity for the Conservatives, reflected in the party's poor performances in the 2023 and 2024 local elections. Sunak called a general election for July 2024 despite being widely expected to call the election in the autumn; the Conservatives lost this election in a landslide to the opposition Labour Party led by Keir Starmer, ending 14 years of Conservative government. \n

After leaving office, Sunak became Leader of the Opposition and remained Conservative leader for nearly four months while the leadership election to replace him took place, and formed a shadow cabinet. He was succeeded by Kemi Badenoch, his Shadow Housing Secretary. He also intends to remain as a backbench MP for the next five years. \n

v t e Rishi Sunak
\n Leader of the Opposition (2024) \n 57th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2022\u20132024) \n 18th Leader of the Conservative Party (2022\u20132024) \n Chancellor of the Exchequer (2020\u20132022) \n 33rd Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2019\u20132020) \n Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government (2018\u20132019) \n MP for Richmond and Northallerton (2024\u2013present) \n MP for Richmond (Yorks) (2015\u20132024) \n
Premiership	\n Ministry \n Chancellorship of Jeremy Hunt\n November 2022 autumn statement \n 2023 budget \n November 2023 autumn statement \n March 2024 budget \n Cost-of-living crisis \n Industrial disputes\n Postal workers' strikes \n Railway strikes \n NHS strikes \n War in Ukraine\n 2023 visit by Volodymyr Zelenskyy \n May 2023 European visits by Volodymyr Zelenskyy \n 2023 cabinet reshuffles\n February \n November \n David Cameron as Foreign Secretary \n Windsor Framework \n Lockdown Files \n Coronation of Charles III and Camilla \n 2023 G7 summit \n 2023 AI Safety Summit \n English Channel migrant crossings\n \"Stop the boats\" \n Rwanda asylum plan \n Illegal Migration Act 2023 \n Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 \n War in Israel \n 2023 State Opening of Parliament \n Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 \n 2024 G7 summit \n 2024 Conservative manifesto \n International trips \n Election betting scandal \n Leadership succession \n
Chancellorship	\n COVID-19 pandemic\n government response \n economic impact \n lockdown \n vaccinations \n contracts \n contract controversies \n Eat Out to Help Out \n furlough scheme \n Partygate \n July 2022 government crisis \n inquiry \n Budgets and statements\n 2020 budget \n July 2020 summer statement \n Winter Economy Plan \n March 2021 budget \n October 2021 budget \n
Electoral history	\n September 2022 Party leadership election \n October 2022 Party leadership election \n 2024 general election \n
Family	\n Akshata Murty (wife) \n N. R. Narayana Murthy (father-in-law) \n Sudha Murty (mother-in-law) \n
Related	\n Shadow Cabinet\n Opposition frontbench \n Kirby Sigston Manor (constituency home) \n Spitting Image \n This England \n Partygate (TV drama) \n
\n \u2190 Liz Truss \n Keir Starmer\u2192 \n \n $\"\"$ Category \n

Authority control databases $\"Edit$
International	ISNI VIAF 2 3 4 WorldCat 2
National	Germany United States Norway Latvia Poland Israel
Artists	MusicBrainz
People	UK Parliament

Early life and education (1980\u20132001)

Career

Business career (2001\u20132015)

Backbencher (2015\u20132018)

Local government under-secretary (2018\u20132019)

Chief secretary to the Treasury (2019\u20132020)

Chancellor of the Exchequer (2020\u20132022)

COVID-19 pandemic

Furlough scheme

Eat Out to Help Out

Cost of living crisis and energy crisis

Budgets

Other actions

Resignation

Conservative leadership bids

Premiership (2022\u20132024)

Cabinet

Reshuffles

Foreign policy

Immigration

Russia and Ukraine

Israel and Palestine

Local election results

2024 general election and resignation

Post-premiership (2024\u2013present)

Leader of the Opposition (July\u2013November 2024)

Other activities

Political positions

Public image

Personal life

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

Rishi Sunak

Talks

Main Milestones