Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom: Who is she?

Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFPO

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss succeeds Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party announced that it had defeated former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak in the internal leadership elections and thus automatically became Prime Minister. Truss received 58 percent of the Conservative vote.

Johnson is expected to resign from Queen Elizabeth today, after which the head of state will receive Truss. Due to the Queen’s health, this will not happen at Buckingham Palace, but at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Truss became the third female prime minister in the United Kingdom, after her party colleagues Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

Portrait of Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

But who exactly is Liz Truss and what are her ambitions? Truss, like Johnson, is from the Conservative Party and until recently served as foreign secretary. According to the British newspaper BBC The 47-year-old wants Truss Fulfills some promises, which is based on core conservative values. For example, the new prime minister indicated during her election campaign that he wants to reverse the tax increases. Many economists criticized this plan because it would already fuel inflation.

Inflation in the UK is the highest in Western Europe and many Britons are suffering from rising energy and food prices. Truss announced that he would soon come up with a new economic plan to address the problems.

Tory favorite

according to BBC Liz Truss is the absolute sweetheart of the conservative right wing who supports Brexit. Her political preference used to be in a very different direction: In the 1980s, Truss was still known as a liberal democratic activist and marched against Margaret Thatcher, who was the leader of the Conservative Party between 1975 and 1990.

As Secretary of State, she remained loyal to Johnson until the bitter end, when other ministers abandoned him due to the ‘Party Gateway’ scandal, with Johnson hosting a party while residents were in deep lockdown.

loyal to johnson

Johnson announced two months ago that he would step down become untenable. Truss served as foreign minister in his cabinet and remained loyal to him during the government crisis. On the other hand, Sunak distanced himself from Johnson and resigned as Finance Minister.

After Johnson said he was leaving, several candidates presented themselves to become the new prime minister. After several rounds of voting among Conservative MPs, two candidates remained. In the final round, it was up to the party members to choose between Truss and Snacks.