Rishi Sunak was inaugurated as Britain’s new prime minister on Tuesday, just days after fellow Conservative Party member Liz Truss resigned from the position, and after securing the Tory leadership without a vote.
Sunak, 42, was officially sworn in by King Charles, becoming Britain’s first-ever prime minister of Asian heritage, and the youngest premier in more than 200 years.
Sunak is the third Conservative prime minister in the last two months, following in the footsteps of Truss and Boris Johnson, who resigned in July and briefly contemplated a return to politics last week before deciding not to throw his hat in the ring.
For her part, Truss resigned on Thursday just 45 days after assuming office, amid a political firestorm set off by her economic plan, that was panned by investors, sent the pound and stocks tumbling and created chaos in her party.
Truss, who goes down as the shortest-serving prime minister in Britain’s history, was under increasing pressure after she had sacked her finance minister due to backlash over the “mini-budget” they had presented calling for deep unfunded corporate tax cuts.
Truss won the vote to become Conservative Party leader on Sept. 5 , and a day later was sworn in as prime minister, replacing Johnson.
Meanwhile, Sunak is considered a supporter of Israel, having told the Conservative Friends of Israel hustings in August that he viewed Jerusalem as Israel’s “historic capital,” according to the London-based Jewish Chronicle.
He also reportedly agreed with Truss that there was a “very strong case” for moving the British embassy to the holy city, and vowed to promote legislation to restrict the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement against Israel.
In an August interview with the Chronicle, Sunak denounced those who describe Israel as an “apartheid” state and instead called the country a “shining beacon of hope.”