Rishi Sunak will become the United Kingdom’s third prime minister in three months, and the first of Indian heritage, after winning the Conservative Party’s leadership.
The only other MP to declare their candidacy was Penny Mordaunt, who conceded to Mr Sunak shortly before the number of nominations for each candidate was due to be announced.
Mr Sunak will replace Liz Truss, who was forced to announce her resignation just 45 days into her leadership, after her disastrous mini-budget spooked financial markets and caused division within her own party.
At the time of her resignation, Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, expressed his hope that the “political instability afflicting the United Kingdom for a while now finally comes to an end.”
Speaking to MPs privately after his victory today, Mr Sunak shared a similar sentiment and said the Conservative Party must “unite or die” following the unprecedented upheavals in UK politics over the last three months.
Later in a televised speech, the former chancellor of the exchequer pledged to govern the country with integrity.
“It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to serve the party I love and give back to the country I owe so much to,” Mr Sunak said.
“We face a profound economic challenge. We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together.”
Mr Sunak will meet with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday morning where he will be appointed Prime Minister and asked to form government.
The Tories have now delivered the UK three female Prime Ministers and the country’s first non-Anglo leader, as well as its first and only Jewish leader in Benjamin Disraeli.
