In a historic moment, Indian-origin Rishi Sunak took charge as the Prime Minister of United Kingdom on Tuesday after he arrived at the UK’s Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles III, who anointed him to the leading post.
Earlier during the day, the 73-year-old monarch accepted the formal resignation of outgoing PM Liz Truss, who only held the post for 45 days, thus making herself the shortest-serving Prime Minister in the history of the United Kingdom.
During his address, Sunak vowed, “To bring our party and our country together because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face.”
The Indian-origin Prime Minister is the youngest to hold the UK’s top post in 200 years.
Rishi Sunak is the son-in-law of Indian billionaire businessman and the founder of Infosys, NR Narayana Murthy. Murthy expressed confidence that the country’s first PM of Indian descent will do his best for the British people. Sunak, a Stanford and Oxford alumnae, is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of business magnate Narayana Murthy.
In addition to this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Sunak and expressed his desire to work closely with him on international matters. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, “Warmest congratulations @RishiSunak! As you become UK PM, I look forward to working closely together on global issues, and implementing Roadmap 2030.”