British PM appoints new finance minister of Iraqi origin
The newly appointed British Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, appointed Nadhim Zahawi of the Iraqi origin as finance minister on Tuesday, replacing Rishi Sunak who earlier quit in protest at Johnson’s leadership, according to Reuters.
The British government announced that Queen Elizabeth II agreed to appoint Zahawi as the new finance minister.
The Finance Minister, Rishi Sunak, and Health Minister, Sajid Javid, submitted their resignations from the British government on Tuesday following Boris Johnson’s refusal to appoint MP Chris Pincher in a governmental position.
According to Financial Times, Zahawi, who is now 55 years old, was born in northern Iraq and arrived in England at the age of 11 after his family fled Iraq in 1978. His teachers warned his parents that he might suffer from learning difficulties after he initially struggled to speak English.
Before becoming involved in politics, Zahawi was successful in business. With fellow Conservative Stephan Shakespeare, in 2000 he founded the polling company YouGov, specialising in online surveys. It was floated on the stock market five years later, Financial Times mentioned.
Zahawi entered parliament in 2010 as the MP for Stratford-upon-Avon. He joined the government as a junior minister in the Department for Education under Theresa May, and later moved on to become an industry minister. Following a cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he was promoted to Johnson’s education secretary, according to Financial Times.