Rishi Sunak will replace Liz Truss, who held the record for the UK prime minister with the shortest tenure.

He will become the third prime minister to lead the country in the last seven weeks and the fifth since 2016.

Penny Mordaunt, Sunak’s only opponent withdrew from the race, saying, “Rishi has my full support,” and “we all owe it to the country” to get behind him.

Also read: Rishi Sunak new UK PM: A tale of many firsts

Sunak easily won the race, while Mordaunt struggled to garner enough support from MPs to advance to the leadership vote’s final round.

“This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party,” she tweeted.

It signals yet another upheaval at the head of government; Sunak is expected to name his own cabinet this week after Truss and Boris Johnson hastily reorganised their Cabinets in an effort to keep their jobs.

Also read: Rishi Sunak next UK PM: 3 other Indian-origin world leaders

However, opposition parties will insist that Sunak call a general election right away if he wants to be able to lead with any authority.

Sunak will become the first Hindu and person of colour to serve as prime minister of the United Kingdom. In addition, he is the youngest incumbent of the office in more than 200 years at 42 years old.

An astonishingly rapid rise to the top of British politics comes to an end with the results of the election on Monday.

Also read: Why the British public does not choose their prime minister: Explained

Sunak spend two years on the backbenches after his initial election as an MP in 2015, when Brexit dominated the political scene. Sunak supported exiting the EU in the 2016 vote.

Later, in Theresa May’s cabinet, he attained the rank of junior minister. Sunak obtained his first big government role when Boris Johnson first appointed him as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2019 and then as the Chancellor in 2020.