Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy’s son-in-law Rishi Sunak was appointed the new finance minister of the United Kingdom on Thursday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his decision hours after Sajid Javid stepped down as chancellor of the exchequer.
The 39-year-old had been elected to parliament from Richmond town in North Yorkshire in 2015. Three years later, he became a housing minister before being promoted to chief secretary to the treasurer in July, when Johnson took charge as prime minister, BBC reported. Sunak studied at Winchester College and Oxford University and later on went on to start an investment firm.
Sunak’s appointment was announced along with a few others as the prime minister conducted a post-Brexit Cabinet reshuffle. Javid, whose resignation came as a surprise, was expected to present his first Budget in four weeks.
On January 31, the United Kingdom officially left the European Union after 47 years. Johnson has promised a “new era of friendly cooperation” with the European Union. In December, after his Conservative Party swept the polls, the prime minister had promised to take the country out of the bloc by January end. On January 24, Johnson signed the United Kingdom’s “divorce deal” with the Union.
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