Lesser known facts about Indian-Origin Rishi Sunak, who could be UK's next PM

By Team Newsable | First Published Jul 7, 2022, 4:16 PM IST

Rishi Sunak's grandparents were from Punjab. He is married to Infosys chief NR Narayana Murthy's daughter Akshata Murty, and the two have two daughters.

The resignation of Rishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Exchequer set off a wave of resignations against Boris Johnson is rumoured to be a contender for the position of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. If that happens, he will be the first Indian-origin British Prime Minister.

Some facts about Rishi Sunak
1) On May 12, 1980, Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton. His father worked as a GP in the National Health Service (NHS), and his mother ran her own pharmacy.

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2) Rishi Sunak's grandparents were from Punjab. He is married to Infosys chief NR Narayana Murthy's daughter Akshata Murty, and they have two daughters, Anoushka and Krishna.

3) Boris Johnson chose Rishi Sunak, 42, and appointed him Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his first full cabinet position, in February 2020.

4) Sunak had a successful business career before entering politics. He previously co-founded a large investment firm. The firm worked with companies based in Silicon Valley, California, and Bengaluru, India's IT capital.

5) Ladbrokes rates him as a joint-favourite with former Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt. During the pandemic, he rose to prominence after putting together a massive package worth tens of billions of pounds to assist businesses and workers.

6) He was penalised for defying the Covid lockdown and attending a Downing Street gathering as a teetotaller.

7) Also known as 'Dishy' Rishi, was put in a precarious position because of his wife's non-dom tax status, his green card from the US, and the notion that he was reluctant to respond to Britain's cost-of-living problem.

8) He was the Chancellor of the Exchequer from February 2020 to June 2022. Since 2015, he has served as Richmond (Yorks) Member of Parliament (MP). Sunak previously held the positions of Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government.

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