Kwasi Kwarteng

Akwasi Addo Alfred "Kwasi" Kwarteng (born 26 May 1975) is a British politician who served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 6 September to 14 October 2022 under Liz Truss and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2021 to 2022 under Boris Johnson. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Spelthorne from 2010 to 2024.

Kwarteng was born in London to Ghanaian immigrant parents and was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He worked as a columnist for ''The Daily Telegraph'' and as a financial analyst before standing for election to the House of Commons. As a backbencher, Kwarteng co-authored a number of papers and books, including ''After the Coalition'' (2011) and ''Britannia Unchained'' (2012). In November 2018, Kwarteng was appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state for Exiting the European Union by Theresa May. After May resigned in 2019, Kwarteng supported Boris Johnson's bid to become leader of the Conservative Party. Following Johnson's appointment as prime minister, he appointed Kwarteng as the minister of state for Business, Energy and Clean Growth. In January 2021, Kwarteng was promoted to the office of secretary of state for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, a role he retained throughout the remainder of Johnson's premiership.

After Johnson resigned in 2022, Kwarteng supported Truss's bid to become Conservative leader. Following Truss's appointment as prime minister, she appointed Kwarteng as Chancellor of the Exchequer, becoming the first black chancellor. On 23 September, Kwarteng announced various tax cuts in a mini-budget that was widely criticised and which caused the pound sterling to fall to its lowest-ever level against the United States dollar. Kwarteng was dismissed as chancellor on 14 October after 38 days, making him the second-shortest-serving holder of the office. He was succeeded by Jeremy Hunt, who was retained by Rishi Sunak following Truss's resignation on 25 October. Kwarteng stood down as an MP at the 2024 general election. Provided by Wikipedia