Former finance minister Rishi Sunak completed a political comeback when he was selected prime minister by Britain’s ruling Conservative Party, just seven weeks after he was beaten to office by Liz Truss.
RELATED: Rishi Sunak replaces Liz Truss as U.K.’s next prime minister https://bit.ly/3D3XtgF
Sunak, 42, will be the fifth British prime minister in six years, the third in less than two months. He is Britain’s first leader of South Asian descent, its first Hindu prime minister, and the nation’s first leader of color. He is the youngest prime minister of modern times.
He won an internal party contest to be the country’s new leader following Truss’ Oct. 20 resignation. Her tenure was the shortest ever for a British prime minister and was marked by economic turmoil. British voters elect a party, not a specific leader, meaning the ruling party has latitude to change a prime minister without calling an election. Sunak won the party contest after his main challenger, Penny Mordaunt, dropped out of the race. He automatically becomes prime minister.
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