Biography Of Rishi Sunak
My father is a doctor and my mother ran the local pharmacy. Growing up, I saw firsthand the difference they made to our community.
– Rishi Sunak
Name | Rishi Sunak |
Born | 12th May 1980 |
Age | 42 year |
Place of Birth | Southampton, Hampshire, England. |
Profession | Businessman, Politician |
Political Party | Conservative |
Current position | UK chancellor of the exchequer |
Martial Status | Married |
Father’s name | Yashvir Sunak |
Mother’s name | Usha Sunak |
Wife | Akshata Murthy |
Children | Krishna and Anoushka |
Website | https://rishisunak.com/ |
Introduction
- Rishi Sunak is a British politician who is one of the top candidates for the United Kingdom Prime Minister post, to replace Boris Johnson. Sunak has been a member of the Conservative Party since 2015. British foreign minister Liz Truss opposed the campaign to become the country’s next prime minister. The outcome of voting for their new leader will be announced on 5 September 2022. He served as Exchequer’s Chancellor from 2020 to 2022 and previously the Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020.
Early Life
- British Politician Rishi Sunak was born on 12th May 1980 in Southampton, Hampshire, South East England to Indian parents. His father name was Yashvir Sunak, he was a Practitioner and his mother Usha Sunak was a Pharmacist. his paternal grandparents were of Indian origin and were born in Punjab. Rishi Sunak is the eldest of three siblings in his family with one brother Sanjay who is a psychologist and his sister Rakhi works as the Head of Humanitarian, Peacebuilding, UN Funds, and Programmes at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Rishi’s grandparents emigrated to the UK in the 1960s from East Africa.
Education
Rishi Sunak was a very bright student. His parents worked hard so that their kids could complete their education. Sunak was inspired by his father’s dedication and has always admired his parent’s sacrifices and hard work done in order to complete Rishi’s education. He attended Stroud School, in Romsey Hampshire, and later Winchester College, a boys’ boarding school, where he was head boy and the editor of the school paper. Rishi Sunak was a very hardworking and dedicated person, he worked as a waiter at a South Asian cuisine restaurant in Southampton.
For higher studies, Rishi Sunak read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Lincoln College, Oxford, and graduated with a first in 2001. Along with his graduation, he also went for an internship at Conservative Campaign Headquarters. Later on, he completed his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Stanford University, California.
Personal Life
- Rishi Sunak is married to Akshata Murthy in August 2009. His wife is the daughter of Indian billionaire N.R. Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys. She owns a 0.91% stake in Infosys and also runs her own fashion label and is among the wealthiest women in Britain. Rishi met his future wife, Akshata while he was completing his MBS at Stanford University in California. The couple has two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka.
- In the “Sunday Times Rich List 2022”, Sunak and Murthy were placed 222nd, making them the “first frontline politician to join the rich list”.
Political Career
Sunak was selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond in October 2014, defeating Wendy Morton. Sunak supported Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Sunak was appointed as chief secretary to the Treasury by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 24 July 2019. Former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson admire Rishi as his favorite Minister.
Sunak was promoted to the chancellor on 13 February 2020 after the resignation of his predecessor, Javid. He served his duties as the UK Finance Minister from 2020 to 2022.
Business Career
- When Rishi Sunak was studying at university he undertook an internship at Conservative Campaign Headquarters. He worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, an investment bank from 2001 to 2004. Later on, he joined The Children’s Investment Fund Management (TCI) and became a partner in September 2006. He also joined another hedge fund firm Theleme Partners in 2009. He is also the director of the investment firm Catamaran Ventures, which is owned by his father-in-law and businessman N. R. Narayana Murthy. In 2013, Rishi and his wife were appointed as directors of “Catamaran Ventures UK Limited”, a leading investment firm owned by his father-in-law and Indian businessman NR Narayana Murthy.
Rishi As Chancellor Of The Exchequer (2020-2022)
Rishi Sunak’s political career saw another promotion when the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid, resigned his post, and Sunak was promoted to the second most powerful political job in the UK Treasury. Appointed as the new Chancellor on 13 February 2020.
Sunak’s first budget was presented on 11 March 2020. In which, £12 billion was allocated for mitigation of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 17 March, Sunak announced £330 billion in emergency support for businesses as well as a scheme for employees i.e, Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
In July, he gave a plan for a further £30 billion of spending which included a stamp duty holiday, a cut to value-added tax (VAT) for the hospitality sector, the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, and a job retention bonus for employers.
In June 2021, the G7 summit was held by Sunak in London where a tax reform agreement was signed, to establish a global minimum tax on multinationals and online technology companies.
In October 2021, Sunak made his third budget statement. It included spending promises to a large extent related to science and education.
On 5 July 2022, Sunak resigned as chancellor moments after Sajid Javid resigned as health secretary.
Rishi Sunak’s View On Different Issues
1. On China:-
Sunak proposes the closure of all 30 Confucius Institutes in the UK, preventing the soft-power spread of Chinese influence through culture and language. He also talks about creating a broad alliance including countries from all over the world as the “Ready4Rishi” campaign.
2. On climate change:-
Rishi Sunak describes a “cautious approach” to green policies and scrap plans to relax the ban on the onshore wind in England, instead focusing on building more turbines offshore. He also pledged to re-establish the Department of Energy and to create a new Energy Security Committee.
3. On Inflation:-
Rishi Sunak wants to tackle surging inflation and Britain’s pandemic debts. Sunak is sticking with a host of recent tax rises to balance the books following record government borrowing during the Covid pandemic.
Top 13 Interesting Facts About Rishi Sunak
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Rishi spent his professional career before politics in business and finance, working internationally.
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He was in the controversy over his wife Akshata Murthy’s non-domicile status. When questioned about Akshata’s family wealth, he said, “I’m actually incredibly proud of what my parents-in-law built.”
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He was penalized for defying the Covid lockdown and attending a Downing Street gathering as a teetotaller.
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He was the Chancellor of the Exchequer from February 2020 to June 2022.
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Sunak’s biography Going for Broke: The Rise of Rishi Sunak is written by Michael Ashcroft.
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According to the Sunday Times, Rich List 2022 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK, Sunak, and Murty were ranked 222nd, with a combined wealth of £730 million, making them the “first frontline politician on the list”.
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If elected to lead the country, Sunak will be the first Indian-origin man to be the British Prime Minister.
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The grandparents of Rishi Sunak hailed from the Indian state of Punjab.
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On 8 July 2022, Rishi announced himself as a candidate to replace Johnson in the Conservative party leadership election.
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Sunak is a Hindu and took his oath as an MP at the House of Commons under the Bhagavad Gita.
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He has also found himself in a perilous situation as a result of his wife’s non-dom tax status, his US green card, and the perception that he was too hesitant to address Britain’s cost-of-living issue.
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Sunak gained enormous popularity during the Coronavirus pandemic after introducing a huge package worth tens of billions of pounds to aid businesses and employees.
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Before entering politics, Sunak co-founded a large investment firm that was working with firms in Silicon Valley to Bengaluru.
Priyanka Bazad
Writer
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