Liz Truss has defeated Rishi Sunak to become Britain’s new Prime Minister. Prime minister elections became unavoidable after Boris Johnson’s resignation in July.
Liz Truss, 47, will be UK’s third female prime minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher. Also, she has become the 4th prime minister of the Conservatives party since a 2015 election.
Liz Truss beat her rival, former finance minister Rishi Sunak, by 81,326 votes to 60,399.
After a long internal contest, Liz Truss emerged as the United Kingdom’s leader. On Monday, Liz Truss vowed to deliver a “bold plan” to cut taxes, grow the UK’s economy and deal with spiraling energy costs. In a statement she said –
It’s an honour to be elected as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party,
I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy. I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills
Boris Johnson was forced to resign after months of scandal allegations. He will meet Queen Elizabeth in Scotland on Tuesday to officially tender his resignation.
Let’s Meet Liz Truss
- Also referred to as Mary Elizabeth Truss.
- Born on 26 July 1975 in Oxford to an emeritus professor of pure mathematics at the University of Leeds (father) and a Latin teacher at Bolton School (mother).
- She attended Roundhay School in the Roundhay area of Leeds.
- She graduated in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Merton College in Oxford in 1996.
- Truss married Hugh O’Leary in 2000 and has two daughters.
- Started her career as a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) in 1999.
- Later she worked in Cable & Wireless and rose to the economic director before leaving in 2005.
- Serving as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs since 2021.
Also, Read | UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Resigns
Political Career:
- Between 1998 to 2000, Truss served as the chair of the Lewisham Deptford Conservative Association and was elected as a councilor for Eltham South in the Greenwich London Borough Council election in 2006.
- She was elected to the House of Commons on 6 May 2010.
- She was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Education on 4 September 2012.
- She was appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 15 July 2014 in a cabinet reshuffle.
- She was appointed as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor in 2016.