After his only opponent withdrew from the campaign, former finance minister Rishi Sunak will become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom.

In a statement, Penny Mordaunt said that supporting him is something “we all owe to the country.”

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Sunak easily crossed the finish line while Mordaunt struggled to secure enough support from MPs to qualify for the final vote in the leadership contest.

“This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party. Rishi has my full support,” Mordaunt tweeted.

In the battle to become the next party leader and prime minister, Sunak has more support among Conservative legislators than any other candidate, according to PA Media on Monday.

In the contest to become the next prime minister of Britain, the former Chancellor had already gotten a flurry of public endorsements from prominent Conservative Party lawmakers.

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Sunak will be the first Hindu and person of colour to hold the position of prime minister in the UK. In addition, at 42 years old, he is the youngest person to hold the office in more than 200 years.

The outcome of the election on Monday puts an end to a breathtakingly quick ascension to the peak of British politics.

When Sunak was initially elected as an MP in 2015, Brexit dominated the political landscape and he served two years on the backbenches. In the 2016 referendum, Sunak favoured leaving the European Union.

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Later, he rose to the position of junior minister in Theresa May’s administration. When Boris Johnson initially appointed Sunak as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2019 and then as the Chancellor in 2020, it was Sunak who received his first significant government position.

When he announced a comprehensive support plan for people unable to work during the lockdown, Sunak gained notoriety in the early weeks of the pandemic.

However, the Partygate controversy that brought down Boris Johnson also damaged his reputation, and after resigning from his government earlier this year, he developed a rivalry with Johnson.

In recent days, Sunak has been mum on his policy proposal, but during the last leadership election over the summer, he was widely regarded as the more moderate of the two contenders. He adopted a more moderate stance on issues like Brexit and the economy than Liz Truss did.