Rishi Sunak
Rishi SunakReuters

42-year-old Conservative Party MP and former Minister of Finance, Rishi Sunak is slated to take over as the next Prime Minister of Britain after beating out Penny Mourdant, his sole rival in the race.

The race was held after Boris Johnson and Liz Truss both resigned following fall-outs with fellow Conservative Party leaders.

Sunak received a number of endorsements from high-profile party lawmakers, with Mourdant failing to seize much momentum in the race.

Sunak's parents, who were born in India and raised their children in Eastern Africa, came to the UK in 1966. Sunak was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July of 2019, serving under Chancellor Sajid Javid.

He faced strong criticism from members of the Conservative Party for "backstabbing" Johnson during the 'Partygate' scandal, as government leaders held parties at 10 Downing Street despite COVID restrictions they, themselves, had imposed. Sunak was also forced to step down as chancellor as a result of the fallout.

“The United Kingdom is a great country, but we face a profound economic crisis,” Sunak said while announcing his candidacy for the country's leadership role.

Truss announced her resignation last Thursday, sending the mandate for leading the country back to the Conservative Party.

In an address outside of 10 Downing Street Thursday, Truss said she will be stepping down as prime minister, lamenting that she "cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party."

British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced Thursday afternoon that she will resign as premier, sending the mandate for leading the country back to the Conservative Party.

Truss was elected by the Conservative Party as party chairwoman in September, positioning her to replace outgoing premier Boris Johnson, who was forced to resign following a revolt by Conservative lawmakers.

After serving less than two months, however, Truss faced another revolt by Tory MPs, following pushback against her government's mini-budget.

Markets tanked following the rollout of the budget, which included a 45 billion-pound increase to the state deficit, created by planned tax cuts aimed at boosting the economy.