Here are some key things to know about Britain's new leader

Sunak was born in Southampton in 1980 to parents of Indian descent who had emigrated from East Africa. His father was a GP and his mother ran her own pharmacy

He was educated at private boarding school Winchester College, Oxford University and Stanford University in California

It was in the US that he met his wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of an Indian billionaire and IT mogul. She and Sunak, 42, have two daughters

He has never commented publicly on how much he is worth, but his career in finance before entering politics is reported to have made him a millionaire while still in his twenties

He is the first Indian-origin British Prime Minister. This summer, when the Richmond MP Rishi Sunak lost to outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss, no one had thought that he will be back at Downing street

The 42-year-old former chancellor, a devout Hindu, was comfortably in the lead, having secured the public backing of over half the 357 Tory MPs – way above the 100 minimum required to make the shortlist.

The UK-born son of Indian-origin general practitioner father Yashvir and pharmacist mother Usha had spoken extensively of his migrant roots during the last campaign and also referenced making history by lighting Diwali diyas at 11 Downing Street as the first Indian-origin Chancellor of the Exchequer

His private sector experience at Goldman Sachs and as a hedge fund manager seem to lend him the aura of someone who can be trusted in the face of harsh economic headwinds, further bolstered by his prescient warnings over Truss’ unfunded tax cuts.