Who is Liz Truss? British politician becomes the third woman to be elected Prime Minister of the UK  

Liz Truss has been elected the new Prime Minister of the UK (Image via Phantom Power/Twitter)
Liz Truss has been elected the new Prime Minister of the UK (Image via Phantom Power/Twitter)

On Monday, Liz Truss defeated UK Foreign Minister Rishi Sunak to become the third woman to be elected Prime Minister of the UK, replacing Boris Johnson, who held office between 2019 and 2022.

According to CNBC, approximately 81,326 members of the Conservative Party voted for Truss, while nearly 60,399 members voted for Sunak. Following the election, the latter took to Twitter to thank the people who voted for him and also asked members of the party to unite together to support Truss.

Meanwhile, Liz Truss took to the stage to thank party staff and 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady, who announced the results:

“It is an honour to be elected as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party. I want to thank the 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady. I want to thank the party staff for organising the one of the longest job interviews in history.”

She also thanked her competitor Rishi Sunak and outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson:

“I want to thank our outgoing leader, my friend Boris Johnson. Boris, you got Brexit done. You crushed Jeremy Corbyn, you rolled out the vaccine. And you stood up to Vladimir Putin. You were admired from Kyiv to Carlisle.”

The newly elected PM also shared a glimpse of the promises that she plans to deliver within the next two years:

“I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy. I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people's energy bills, but also dealing with the long term issues we have on energy supply. And I will deliver on the National Health Service.”

Liz Truss also mentioned that she “campaigned as a Conservative” and she will “govern as a Conservative” as well as “deliver great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024.”


New British PM Liz Truss served in various cabinet positions under Prime Ministers David Cameron

Liz Truss has served as the UK's Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development since 2019 (Image via Effie Deans/Twitter)
Liz Truss has served as the UK's Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development since 2019 (Image via Effie Deans/Twitter)

Liz Truss is a British politician and newly elected leader of the Conservative Party and is due to be appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She was born to John Kenneth and Priscilla Mary Truss on 26 July 1975 in Oxford, England and later moved to Paisley, Renfrewshire, in Scotland, with her family.

The politician studied philosophy, politics and economics at Merton College, Oxford, and graduated in 1996. Prior to her graduation, Truss was a member of the National Executive Committee of Liberal Democrat Youth and Students (LDYS) and served as the president of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats.

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However, she joined the Conservative Party in 1996. That same year, Liz Truss started working for Shell and qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) in 1999. The following year, she joined Cable & Wireless and became the economic director of the organization before quitting in 2005.

Truss was the chairperson of the Lewisham Deptford Conservative Association between 1998 and 2000 and was elected as a councilor for Eltham South in the Greenwich London Borough Council election in 2006. She also became a full-time deputy director of the Reform Research Trust in January 2008.

The Oxford-native has reportedly served in various cabinet positions under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. She has been a Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk since 2010.

Truss was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Childcare and Education between 2012 and 2014 and was also appointed the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs during the 2014 cabinet reshuffle.

Following Cameron’s resignation in 2016, Liz Truss was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor and made history by becoming the first female Lord Chancellor in a thousand-year history.

She was then appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury during the 2017 general election. After May’s resignation in 2019, Truss was appointed the Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade by Boris Johnson.

That same year, the politician also took up the role of additional role of Minister for Women and Equalities, eventually being appointed Foreign Secretary by Johnson during the 2021 cabinet reshuffle.

Liz Truss has since served as the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development. She also became the chief negotiator of the Government with the European Union and the UK chair of the EU–UK Partnership Council in 2021.

The 47-year-old also founded the Free Enterprise Group of Conservative MPs and has authored several papers and books, including After the Coalition and Britannia Unchained.

The 47-year-old also founded the Free Enterprise Group of Conservative MPs and has authored several papers and books, including After the Coalition and Britannia Unchained. She was ultimately elected the leader of the 2022 Conservative Party following Johnson’s resignation.

On a personal front, Truss is married to fellow accountant Hugh O'Leary and shares two daughters with her husband. Truss will officially become the Prime Minister of the UK after Boris Johnson delivers his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.

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Truss will then be formally appointed as the PM by the Queen. Reports suggest that the official event will take place in the Queen’s Scottish residence Balmoral Castle, where she is currently living, instead of Buckingham Palace as the monarch continues to deal with mobility issues.

Both Liz Truss and Boris Johnson will reportedly travel to Balmoral this week to complete their official proceedings.

Edited by Prem Deshpande
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