10 Downing Street officially has a new tenant.
On Oct. 25, Rishi Sunak was named the next prime minister to lead Britain—less than a week after Liz Truss‘ abrupt resignation—becoming the first person of color to lead the government in the country’s history.
“I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of the government’s agenda,” Sunak said in a speech after meeting with King Charles III. “This will mean difficult decisions to come. But you saw me during Covid doing everything I could to protect people and businesses with schemes like furlough. There are always limits, more so than ever, but I promise you this. I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.”
Sunak, 42, won the role of the Conservative Party leader after his sole competitor, Penny Mordaunt, dropped out of the race moments before votes from members of Parliament were due to be announced Oct. 24. A day earlier, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was reportedly weighing another run, also withdrew from the leadership race.
Sunak’s new role comes just five days after Truss, 47, announced that she would be resigning as prime minister, after serving only 44 days in office. The former chancellor of the Exchequer becomes the U.K.’s third prime minister in two months, after Johnson stepped down in early September and Truss’ resignation in late October.
