News
Lincoln alumnus Rishi Sunak becomes UK Prime Minister
24 Oct 2022
The College sends its congratulations to The Rt Hon. Rishi Sunak MP on becoming the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following his election as Leader of the Conservative Party. He is the first Lincoln graduate to hold the office.
Professor H.R. Woudhuysen FBA, the College’s Rector, said:
Rishi Sunak is a distinguished alumnus of the College. I warmly congratulate him on his becoming Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister. He will, I hope, lead the country well during these difficult times.
Rishi Sunak matriculated at Lincoln in 1998 to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 2001 with a first-class degree. He later studied for his MBA at Stanford University. He has worked in the financial sector, and was Head of the Black and Minority Ethnic Research Unit at Policy Exchange. In 2015, he was elected as MP for Richmond, Yorkshire.
As an MP, Mr Sunak served as Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. In 2019, Mr Sunak was appointed Chief Secretary to HM Treasury and made a member of the Privy Council. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer, 2020–22.