Rishi Sunak is a British politician and businessman from an immigrant family, who held several political positions headed by the British Prime Minister.

Although the son of an immigrant, he has a strict anti-immigrant policy, and he is also the first British prime minister of immigrant background.

He was elected leader of the Conservative Party - and then British Prime Minister - on October 24, 2022, after 155 MPs announced their support for his candidacy, compared to only 25 for the majority leader in the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, out of 357 votes.

Just as Barack Obama was the first black and African American president, Rishi Sunak achieved this feat in Britain;

He is of Indian origin, and observers believe that history did justice to him in a short time, after it became clear that his warnings of Liz Truss' economic plan would inflict great losses on the country, and that was what he actually was.

Rishi Sunak (centre) and his wife talk with King Charles III (when he was heir apparent) in London on February 9, 2022 (Reuters)

Birth and upbringing

Rishi Sunak was born on May 12, 1980, in Southampton, England, to an immigrant family of Indian origin, not known for his political interests.

His grandparents immigrated from Punjab in India to East Africa, and in the 1960s his parents immigrated to Britain (his father immigrated from Kenya and his mother from Tanzania).

He also met in Britain a girl of Indian origin and married her, and she bore him two daughters.

Study and scientific training

Rishi Sunak attended Stroud School (also called King Edward VI School) Preparatory School in Rumsey, near Southampton.

His father, Dr. Yashvir Sunak, and his mother, a pharmacist, Usha Sunak, ensured that Rishi had a good education, and this culminated in his enrollment at the private boarding college Winchester, and he also studied at Stanford University and at Oxford University in the Department of Economics, Politics and Philosophy.

While on vacation, he worked as a waiter at Southampton's Curry House, and while studying for his master's degree at Stanford he met student Murti, the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murti, founder of the information technology services giant Infosys.

Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murti with his daughters Anushka and Krishna during a Conservative Party rally on July 23, 2022 (Reuters)

professional experience

Sunak had a successful career, starting with his work in his mother's pharmacy, which helped him gain experience in entrepreneurship, to his participation in the establishment of a large investment company that contributed to helping British start-ups and small businesses.

Sunak considers this assistance the duty of the politician to achieve development and prosperity for the future, by supporting free projects and innovation.

Sunak was adept at investing, and he became a millionaire in his twenties, and this was helped by his being a graduate of prestigious universities that society had become accustomed to in the efficiency of its graduates.

Sonak is often known as one of the richest politicians in the country, and this is due to the wealth of his wife (Akshata Murti), who is one of the richest women in the United Kingdom, and about her wealth aroused a lot of controversy after revealing that her companies benefited from tax havens away from Britain.

political experience

In his adolescence, Sunak was not a fan of fashion and he was known for his conservatism and behavioral commitment compared to his peers, and he was famous for not drinking much, and his pride in his Hindu values ​​was evident in his speeches and in the red thread that always adorns his wrist.

His rapid wealth - which was supported by his marriage to the founder of Infosys - contributed to his entry into the world of politics, so he was elected a Conservative MP in May 2015 from the city of Richmond, north of Yorkshire, the stronghold of the Conservatives, and his money and political power contributed to the reservation of a prominent seat in the Conservative community in Britain.


Sunak was appointed Parliamentary Special Secretary in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in June 2017, then was appointed Minister of Finance in 2019, and his appointment coincided with the economic crisis that swept the world following the Corona pandemic.

The crisis forced Rishi Sunak to allocate an additional budget to mitigate the economic impact of the epidemic, and he also submitted an emergency budget of 330 billion pounds to support affected companies and employees, and this plan was extended several times during the pandemic.

strict anti-immigrant policy

Sunak has a tough anti-immigrant policy, with some of his opponents even taking advantage of it and calling him a "traitor to liberalism".

Going back to the history of Rishi Sunak voting on immigration and refugee laws, he has always been a supporter of any law that reduces the number of immigrants to the country, as well as being tough on the issue of receiving refugees.

During his leadership of the Treasury - which is the second most important ministry after the prime minister - he granted a lot of funding to all efforts to prevent the arrival of refugees through the sea channel.

Sunak did not issue any position opposing the controversial laws on immigration, such as the Citizenship and Borders Act, which paves the way for withdrawing citizenship from anyone even without informing them of the matter, or the project to deport immigrants to Rwanda, a project that is still frozen pending a decision by the British Supreme Court.