UK ‘PM’ Rishi Sunak? 5 things to know about Boris Johnson’s potential successor

Rishi Sunak, one of several Tory MPs whose exit from Boris Johnson’s government has brought the UK prime minister on the brink of stepping down from the coveted post – he is likely to resign today – is the frontrunner to be the next entrant to 10, Downing Street.

For now, however, Johnson will continue in the post, albeit in caretaker capacity, as the Conservatives are likely to have elected their new leader only by October. This leader will go on to be the US-born Johnson’s successor, and the UK’s 78th premier.

Here are five things to know about Rishi Sunak:

(1.) Sunak, as his name suggests, is of Indian-origin, and was born on May 12, 1980, in Southampton. His father was a General Practitioner (GP) in the National Health Service (NHS), while his mother ran her own pharmacy. In the event of becoming PM, he will be Britain’s first Indian-origin premier.

(2.) Prior to entering politics, the 42-year-old had a successful business career. His experience includes co-founding a large investment firm. The firm worked with companies ranging from those in the Silicon Valley, California, and those based in India’s IT capital, Bengaluru.

(3.) Sunak is the son-in-law of the Infosys couple, NR Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murthy. He met his future wife, Akshata, in California in 2009, and they are parents to daughters Anoushka and Krishna. With a combined net fortune of 730 million pounds, the couple ranked 222 in the ‘Sunday Times Rich List 2022’.

(4.) Since 2017, Sunak has taken oath as a member of the House of Commons – the lower house of UK’s Parliament – on the Bhagvad Gita.

(5.) He recently found himself embroiled in two major controversies. One was over his status as Johnson’s ‘partner in crime’ in what came to be known as ‘Partygate’. The other was over the non-domicile status of his wife.