Rishi Sunak became Britain’s third prime minister of the year on Tuesday after meeting with King Charles III, who had just accepted the resignation of Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace.
Sunak 42, the U.K.’s first leader of color and the youngest British leader in more than 200 years — is expected to immediately begin appointing a Cabinet and getting to grips with an economy sliding toward recession.
“Our country is facing a profound economic crisis,” he said in his first speech as prime minister outside No. 10 Downing St. “I will unite our country not with words but with action.”
While acknowledging mistakes by his predecessor, Sunak promised to place “economic stability and confidence” at the heart of his agenda.
He said he would confront the “profound economic crisis” with compassion and lead a government of “integrity, professionalism and accountability.”
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Truss departed after making a public statement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing Street office, seven weeks to the day after she was appointed prime minister.
In a farewell speech outside No. 10 Downing St. early Tuesday, Truss made no apology for her brief and calamitous tenure, instead standing by the raft of tax cuts — since abandoned — which sent markets spiraling and then spelled her lightspeed demise.
Her short time as prime minister had, she said, left her “more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face.”
