Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Thursday named Rishi Sunak, son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy, as his finance minister.

The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP @RishiSunak has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer @HMTreasury pic.twitter.com/OTYOkujnbo

— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) February 13, 2020

Sunak, 39, the son of a doctor and pharmacist, is the husband of Akshata Murthy, the daughter of billionaire NR Narayana Murthy who founded Infosys. The couple married in 2009 and have two daughters.

He was born and grew up in Southampton, Hampshire. He went on to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Oxford University. He then completed an MBA from Stanford University.

It was at Stanford that he met his wife, Akshata Murthy.

Sunak dabbled in banking before launching his political career. He worked as an analyst for investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and then became a hedge-fun manager and later partner.

Sunak is also a director of Narayana Murthy’s investment company Catamaran Ventures.

Sunak was selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond (in North Yorkshre) in 2014 after former party leader William Hague announced he was stepping down as MP.

Sunak has made no bones of his support for Brexit — a Johnson victory means Britain will be out of the European Union by January 31 — and backed Leave in 2016 referendum campaign.

He voted for former prime minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, but backed Johnson to be the new leader after she announced she was stepping down. Johnson as prime minister appointed Sunak as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Sajid Javid quit as the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer as Boris Johnson’s first major Cabinet reshuffle went disastrously wrong.

The finance minister resigned after a face-to-face row with Johnson inside 10 Downing Street. The prime minister demanded that Javid fire all five of his most senior aides but the chancellor refused and quit, according to three people familiar with the matter.

First Published:Feb 13, 2020 6:00 PM IST