Wild week in UK politics ends with first POC Prime Minister in country’s history

After a tumultuous few days in British politics, the country has a new Prime Minister in Rishi Sunak, who will make history as the first person of color to serve in the role as well as the youngest in hundreds of years.

The last several days saw former PM Liz Truss resign from the position after only a few weeks, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in the country’s history.

In the days following her resignation announcement, several candidates threw their hats in the ring for the open position, including Truss’ predecessor, former PM Boris Johnson. Johnson had resigned from the position himself only two months prior.

Johnson dropped out of the race on Sunday, citing a lack of support from enough MPs in parliament for his return.

On Monday, Rishi Sunak, a wealthy Conservative politician, won the party race for the role and gave a public address pledging to govern with “integrity and humility.”

Sunak made headlines in recent months when he resigned from Boris Johnson’s cabinet, part of the domino effect that led to Johnson’s resignation.

The 42-year old financier, a practicing Hindu originally from India, is the first person of South Asian descent to serve in the role, as well as the youngest in modern British history. William Pitt was the youngest prime minister in history, entering office at only 24 years old. 

“We now need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together,” Sunak said in his address on Monday. He acknowledged that he is inheriting a messy political situation that will require bipartisanship and unity, calling this moment in UK history an “existential crisis” in which the country must “unite or die.”