Rishi Sunak: All about Britain's youngest, first Hindu PM

London, Oct 24: Indian-origin Rishi Sunak was named the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. Sunak is the first Hindu leader to be appointed for the top post just in time for Diwali. Sunak is also the youngest for around 200 years at 42 years.

His appointment comes after an extraordinarily turbulent year in Westminster and for him personally.

What's Rishi Sunak Indian connection?

Born to an Indian family, Rishi Sunak is the son of a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner (GP) father. His grandparents are from Punjab.

Sunak is an Oxford University and Stanford graduate.While studying at Stanford, he met his future wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of N. R. Narayana Murthy, the Indian billionaire businessman who founded Infosys.

The couple who tied the knot in 2009 has two daughters, Anoushka and Krishna.

Rishi Sunak's initial innings in UK politics

Sunak became a Member of Parliament (MP) in 2015 after he got elected from Richmond, Yorkshire. He took oath as MP on the Bhagavad Gita in the Parliament.

In February 2020 he was designated as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the most important UK Cabinet post.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer under Boris Johnson's leadership, he lit Diwali diyas at his residence on Downing Street.

Rishi Sunak controversies

Sunak was in news for all bad reasons after the 'partygate' scandal, violating COVID-19 norms and organising lockdown parties at government offices. This eventually led to a crisis in the Johnson government.

But questions over his wife, Akshata's tax status and wealth along with his involvement in the Partygate Scandal and criticism from fellow Tories about his moves to increase taxes for millions, transformed him to 'Fishy Rishi'.

The Sunak couple's finances recently came under scrutiny when it was revealed that Akshata, still an Indian national, had non-domiciled status in the UK, allowing her to avoid paying tax on her foreign earnings as she planned to return to India to live. Her non-domicile status reportedly allowed her to save around £20 million in taxes on dividends from her shares in Infosys.

During the campaigning for the PM's post in the summer of 2022, Rishi Sunak faced criticism on various fronts including his lavish house, expensive suits, and shoes.

Rishi Sunak has a net worth of over 700 million pounds. Apart from owning a mansion in Yorkshire, Sunak and his wife Akshata own a property in Kensington in central London.