Rishi Sunak has won the race to succeed Liz Truss as Britain’s next prime minister, according to the Associated Press. The 42-year-old former finance minister will be the first person of color and practicing Hindu to ever serve in the role, and the youngest person to hold the office in more than 200 years.
Truss previously beat Sunak in early September to become leader of the Conservative Party and replace then-outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but she resigned after only 44 days, setting a new record for the shortest term ever served by a prime minister in Britain’s history.
Sunak, a Stanford University-educated multimillionaire, will now take the reins of a country plagued by major issues, such as its struggling economy and the war in Ukraine.
“The United Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge,” Sunak said following his victory. “We now need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together.”
Conservative lawmakers cheered the prime minister-designate in a private parliamentary meeting on Monday after his win. Sunak is calling on all members of the party to come together for the sake of the country.
King Charles III must now officially install Sunak as prime minister in his first official appointment as head of state since his mother’s death on September 8. Queen Elizabeth II had appointed Truss in the position just two days before she died.
