Ministerial role

Prime Minister

Responsibilities

The Prime Minister is the leader of His Majesty’s Government and is ultimately responsible for the policy and decisions of the government.

As leader of the UK government the Prime Minister also:

  • oversees the operation of the Civil Service and government agencies
  • chooses members of the government
  • is the principal government figure in the House of Commons

As Minister for the Union, the Prime Minister works to ensure that all of government is acting on behalf of the entire United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Current role holder

The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP

Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister on 25 October 2022.

He was previously appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer from 13 February 2020 to 5 July 2022.

He was Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 24 July 2019 to 13 February 2020, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 9 January 2018 to 24 July 2019.

Education

Rishi went to Winchester College and studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. He was also a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University (USA) where he studied for his MBA.

Political career

Rishi was elected Conservative MP for Richmond (Yorks) in May 2015 and served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from June 2017 until his ministerial appointment.

Career before politics

Rishi spent his professional career before politics in business and finance, working internationally. He co-founded an investment firm working with companies in multiple geographies. He then used that experience to help small and entrepreneurial British companies grow.

Personal life

Rishi is married with two young daughters.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

Find out more about previous holders of this role in our past Prime Ministers section.