PM Liz Truss: Know About UK's Third Woman Prime Minister & Boris Johnson's Successor

The United Kingdom (UK) on Monday (September 5) welcomed their newly elected Prime Minister (PM) after a month-long political crisis. Being the third woman PM of the UK after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May, the Member of Parliament (MP) from South West Norfolk, Mary Elizabeth Truss, is now set to continue as the successor of PM Boris Johnson.

The newly elected PM of the UK and leader of the Conservative Party has served as the Secretary of State of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021 and has been a Minister for Women and Equalities since 2019. Being a senior member of her party, Truss has contributed to the development of the UK in various cabinet positions under PM Theresa May, Boris Johnson and David Cameron.

Tough Competition With Rishi Sunak

In the PM's election, she was brought into competition with the former finance minister, Indian-origin, Rishi Sunak, who gave her neck-to-neck competition till the last round. After completing several vote counting rounds, Truss emerged stronger with 81,326 votes on her side. Rishi Sunak settled for 60,399 votes, making him finish second in the race to become UK's next PM.

After winning with a decent margin, Truss, in her speech from the Queen Elizabeth II Centre auditorium, said, "It's an honour to be elected as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party," LiveMint reported.

She also thanked the people who supported her in this journey. She took to her social media handle and said, "I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Thank you for trusting me to lead and deliver for our great country. I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom's potential."

I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party.

Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country.

I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom's potential. pic.twitter.com/xCGGTJzjqb

— Liz Truss (@trussliz) September 5, 2022

Who Is Liz Truss?

Truss was born on July 26, 1975, to a family of professors of pure mathematics at Leeds University (father) and a Latin teacher at Bolton School (mother). She attended the Roundhay School in the area of Leading and read Politics, Economics and Philosophy extensively at Merton College in Oxford.

She completed her graduation in 1996 and married Hugh O'Leary in 2000, and had two daughters. She started her career as a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) a year before marriage. Later, she was employed by Cable and Wireless as economic director till 2005. Then she entered politics and fought two elections but lost both by some votes.

Truss served as the chair of the Lewishman Deptford Conservative Association and was elected as the councillor for Eltham South in the Greenwich London Borough Council in 2006. Then she decided to come into mainstream politics and was elected to the House of Commons on May 6, 2010. She was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Education Department on September 4, 2012.

After serving in crucial government positions, she gained immense experience in governance. Following the 2017 general elections in the UK, she was appointed to the work of Chief Secretary to the Treasury. In 2019, she declared that she was a good fit to become the conservative party leader, but she endorsed Boris Johnson.

For promoting him as the next PM, she was promoted to the secretary of state for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade. After serving in crucial positions and ministries, on September 5, she was elected as the third women prime minister of the UK, succeeding Boris Johnson.

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