Rishi Sunak, Alok Sharma join UK cabinet; three Indian-origin MPs in Boris Johnson govt

The 39-year-old Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been the Conservative MP for Richmond in Yorkshire since 2015. He was born in 1980 in Hampshire

Two new Indian-origin individuals have been inducted in the newly re-shuffled Boris Johnson cabinet. Rishi Sunak and Alok Sharma have been appointed to important ministries. The ministers now hold key roles like finance minister and business secretary. Last year, Indian-origin Priti Patel was also elected as Home Secretary in Boris Johnson's government. Overall, there are three Indian-origin leaders in the UK cabinet currently.

Here's what you need to know about the new Indian-origin British MPs:

1. Rishi Sunak:

The 39-year-old Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been the Conservative MP for Richmond in Yorkshire since 2015. He was born in 1980 in Hampshire. His parents are of Indian origin, who came to the UK from east Africa. Rishi Sunak is Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's son-in-law. Sunak has done his MBA from Stanford University. He also went to Oxford University to study Philosophy, Economics and Politics. He has worked for Goldman Sachs as well as a hedge fund. Later, he co-founded an investment firm.  Sunak and wife Akshata Murthy have two daughters.

Also read: Rishi Sunak, Narayana Murthy's son-in-law, is the new UK Finance Minister

2. Alok Sharma:

Alok Sharma is  a trained accountant and has worked in banking. The 52-year-old was born in India, and moved to Reading in Southern England when he was five years old. He was elected Member of Parliament for Reading West in 2010.

Sharma has held various roles, becoming the prime minister's infrastructure envoy to India in 2016 and a minister for housing the next year. He became the Minister for International Aid in 2019.

Also read: Boris Johnson appoints Alok Sharma as UK's business minister, COP26 president

On July 24, 2019, Gujarati-origin politician, Priti Patel became was handed charge of UK's home ministry. The 47-year-old Brexiteer became the Home Secretary of Britain, replacing Sajid Javid. Patel was born in London to Ugandian-Indian migrant family. She studied economic from Keele University and pursued her post graduation from University of Essex. Patel, who is a prominent guest at all major Indian diaspora events in the UK, is seen as an avid supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the UK.

Also read: Boris Johnson unveils his cabinet; appoints Indian-origin Priti Patel as home secretary