Britain’s new FM Rishi Sunak is a ‘first generation immigrant’ with family ties to Narayana Murthy, a doyen of Indian IT

• Just a month ahead of the budget, Britain is now making way for its new Finance Minister — Rishi Sunak.
  
• The 39-year old Indian-origin leader joined politics in 2014 and was the secretary to the Treasury before this.
  
• Sunak figured his way into politics at the Oxford University, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
  
• Before foraying into politics, he worked as an analyst for the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.

Just a month ahead of the budget, Britain is now making way for its new Finance Minister — Rishi Sunak. This comes after the sudden resignation of Chancellor Sajid Javid over differences with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The 39-year old Indian-origin leader — who was one of the early supporters of Johnson — joined politics in 2014 and was the secretary to the Treasury before this.

Sunak, who was born in 1980 and brought up in Hampshire, UK after his grandparents moved there from Punjab, was a ‘first generation immigrant.’

Sunak is married to Akshata Murthy, the daughter of the Indian billionaire and co-founder of IT services giant Infosys Narayana Murthy. “ I’m a first generation immigrant. My parents emigrated here, so you've got this generation of people who are born here, their parents were not born here, and they've come to this country to make a life,” he had once said.

After completing his education at the elite private school Winchester College in the UK, he did his MBA from Stanford University and worked as an analyst for the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and later moved on to become co-founder to a global investment firm.

A plunge into politics

But later Sunak figured his way into politics at the Oxford University, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics — often called the ‘trusted route for aspiring Westminster politicians.’

Since then, he has the leaders backing him up on his political career.

Javid recently said for his successor — "The force is strong with young Sunak." While he remains a rising star of Conservative Party. Lord Hague of Richmond, the leader of his party calls him ‘exceptional.’

"From working in my mum's tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future," Sunak had said during the Brexit referendum.


He is a fan of sports like football and cricket. Football player Matt Le Tissier is one of his childhood heroes. "One of my prized possessions is an 18th birthday card signed by the entire Saints team, but Matt in the middle there, which I've still got," Sunak told the BBC in October 2019.

He was born in the UK but his upbringing keeps his roots within India. "In terms of cultural upbringing, I'd be at the temple at the weekend - I'm a Hindu - but I'd also be at the Saints game as well on a Saturday — you do everything, you do both."

In the interview with BBC, he said he had been blessed for not facing much racism growing up but has one such incident in his memory still.

"I was just out with my younger siblings, and I think I was probably a mid-teenager, and we were out at a fast food restaurant and there were people sitting nearby, it was the first time I'd experienced it, just saying some very unpleasant things. The 'P' word. And it stung. I still remember it. It seared in my memory. You can be insulted in many different ways, certainly in this job, but that stings in a way that is hard to explain," Sunak said.

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