Most Desi Cabinet in British History: 3 Indians & One Pakistani
Here are the profiles of all four.
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The Boris Johnson Cabinet is one of the most diverse (and desi) Cabinets in the history of the United Kingdom.
The 31-member cabinet has three ministers of Indian-origin and one of Pakistan descent.
The newly elected prime minister has in the past described himself as a ‘son-in-law of India’ by virtue of his now-estranged wife Marina Wheeler's Indian mother, but that’s only a tenuous desi connection.
Here is a better look at the three Indian-origin MPs and one Pakistan-origin MP who have earned prestigious positions.
Priti Patel, Home Secretary
Priti Patel has made history by taking charge as Britain’s first Indian-origin Home Secretary. She has been an ardent Brexiteer and one of the most vocal critics of Theresa May's Brexit strategy,
She was a prominent member of the ‘Back Boris’ campaign for the Conservative Party.
Speaking outside the Home Office, she said,
In a congratulatory tweet, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar called her a “good friend” and wished her a successful tenure.
The 47-year-old legislator’s (Gujarati) Indian parents migrated to the UK in the 1960s from Uganda, and she was first elected as a Conservative MP for Witham in 2010.
During the David Cameron-led Tory government, she was made the Indian Diaspora Champion, and was conferred with ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Samman,’ the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians, in 2017.
She was awarded for her “exceptional contribution to national and international politics, her role in strengthening UK-India relations, and for supporting the Indian Diaspora in the UK,” reported News18.
The Gujarati-origin politician has also been an avid supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She had received Modi during his visit to Britain in 2016.
Patel also courted controversy two years ago, having been forced to resign after news broke that she had breached diplomatic protocol by having secret meetings with the Israeli lobby – businesspeople and a senior lobbyist – as well as with Israeli ministers, as reported by The Guardian.
Rishi Sunak, Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Rishi Sunak, son-in-law of Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy, has been promoted as chief secretary to the treasury. Last year, Sunak was inducted as a junior minister in the department for housing, local government and communities.
Sunak is a third-generation British citizen whose grandfather hailed from Punjab. His mother was a chemist while his father worked in the National Health Service (NHS) as a general practitioner. He studied at Winchester College, Oxford University and Stanford University.
He met his wife Akshata in California where he lived for a few years before moving back to the UK. He has two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka.
He was first elected to represent the Richmond constituency in 2015 and was re-elected in 2017.
He began his career as an investment banker. He co-founded a large investment firm, working with companies from Silicon Valley to Bangalore.
“From working in my mum’s tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future,” Sunak had said during the Brexit referendum, reported Eastern Eye.
Alok Sharma, Secretary of State for International Development
Alok Sharma has been elevated to the role of Secretary of State for International Development.
He has been the MP for Reading West since 2010. He was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by Theresa May in 2016. In 2017, he became Housing and Planning minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government. Following that, in 2018, he became Minister of State for Employment.
In 2016, Sharma led the UK delegation to the Global Investors Summit to meet with policymakers and investors. He has also served as the prime minister’s infrastructure envoy to India in the same year.
Born in Agra, he moved to Reading with his parents when he was five years old. He is qualified as a chartered accountant and worked in the banking sector for 16 years. He was also an adviser to clients in the corporate and private equity sector on cross border mergers and acquisitions.
Sharma is married and lives in Caversham with his wife and two daughters.
Playing another pivotal role is Pakistan-origin, Rt Hon Sajid Javid.
Rt Hon Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Sajid Javid was the first home secretary from an ethnic minority when he took the post last year in Theresa May's government. Now he will be UK's first chancellor from such a background.
Javid wants to create a £100bn national infrastructure fund, reported BBC.
He is one of the five sons to a bus driver of Pakistani descent, reported BBC. He studied politics and economics at Exeter University, where he joined the Conservatives.
Sajid Javid was earlier the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
He also served as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Economic and Financial Secretary to the Treasury, member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee.
Before the world of politics, he was in the business of finance.
(With inputs from BBC, UK Government Website, Guardian, Asia Voice, Eastern Eye)
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