Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's son-in-law Rishi Sunak (Photo Credit: File/Reuters)
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday appointed Rishi Sunak, son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, as the new UK finance minister. First elected to Parliament in 2015, Sunak previously served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the second in command to the finance minister. He will join Home secretary Priti Patel on the top government bench as the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
"The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Rishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Exchequer," Downing Street said in the official announcement.
The 39-year-old is set to move into No. 11 Downing Street, next door to the Prime Minister's Office as he takes charge of the second most important government position as the finance minister. Sunak has risen through the ranks in the Conservative Party quite fast. He is a staunch Brexiteer who had backed Johnson's strategy to leave the European Union.
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Sunak's was born in UK to a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner (GP) father. He studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the prestigious Oxford University. He is married to the daughter of Indian billionaire and co-founder of IT services company Infosys, Narayana Murthy.
Besides Sunak, another Indian-origin MP Alok Sharma was promoted to the Business Minister in the latest Cabinet reshuffle, dubbed a purge due to some high-profile resignations and sackings expected.
