Who is Kemi Badenoch, the newly elected leader of UK Conservatives set to replace Rishi Sunak?
Kemi Badenoch
Britain's Conservative Party elected Kemi Badenoch on Saturday (Nov 2) as its new leader after she defeated rival lawmaker Robert Jenrick, and became the first Black woman to lead a major British political party.
Badenoch defeated Jenrick in a vote of almost 200,000 members of the right-of-centre party also known as the Tories.
She has replaced former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who in July, led the Conservatives to their worst election result since 1832.
Badenoch has vowed a return to “authentic conservatism” to rebuild a party facing an uphill struggle to return to power.
She further said that becoming a leader was an “enormous honour”, but that “the task that stands before us is tough.”
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“We have to be honest about the fact we made mistakes” and “let standards slip”, she said.
“It is time to get down to business, it is time to renew,” she added.
She will now face off against Labour Party's Keir Starmer in the House of Commons every Wednesday for the traditional prime minister's questions.
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Who is Kemi Badenoch?
Badenoch, 44, was born in London to Nigerian parents and was raised in Nigeria.
She came back to London when she was 16, looking for a better life. She also worked at McDonald's during her childhood to support herself when not at school.
Badenoch studied computer science at the University of Sussex and left the banking industry to enter politics. She then joined the Conservative Party at the age of 25.
She first served in the London Assembly before being elected to the parliament in 2017.
Two years later, she was named Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families by formerPrime Minister Boris Johnson.
Later in 2022, she became the secretary of state for international trade by Liz Truss, Johnson's successor.
(With inputs from agencies)
