Many Britons and Indians hailed the appointment of Rishi Sunak to Downing Street, becoming Britain’s first Indian head of government. But far from being a first in Europe.
Rishi Sunak was formally appointed as British Prime Minister on Tuesday, much to the pride of many Indians who were delighted to see the Hindu politician of Indian origin arrive in Downing Street. But in Europe, he is not the first.
Sunak Receipt
Former UK finance minister, Rishi Sunak was not only the first head of government from India, but also the first from a former British colony. He was born on 12 May 1980 in Southampton, on the south coast of England, and is of Indian origin to his grandparents, who hail from the Punjab region of northern India.
The Prime Minister’s own parents were born in Kenya and Tanzania, from the Indian diaspora in East Africa. Rishi Sunak is also married to Indian businessman Akshata Murty, heir to a major Indian IT company.
Antonio Costa
In office since 2015, Portuguese socialist Antonio Costa, born in Lisbon and returning for a third term as prime minister last February, is also from the Indian diaspora. His father was actually born in Mozambique to a family originally from Goa, a coastal city in southwest India that was India’s first Portuguese colonial settlement.
At 16e century, the Portuguese Empire controlled the Indian Ocean to ensure Portugal’s dominance in the commercial exchanges of this region. Mozambique is also a former Portuguese colony.
Interestingly, Antonio Costa is not the only Portuguese Prime Minister of Indian origin. Before him, Alfredo Jorge da Costa, also from a family originally from Goa, held this position briefly, from 28 August to 22 November 1978.
Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar served as Prime Minister of Ireland between June 2017 and June 2020. Born in Dublin, he is the son of Ashok Varadkar, born in Bombay, India, who moved to England in the 1960s.
In 2019, Leo Varadkar visited his father’s home village in the Maharashtra region for the first time, in what he called a “very special moment”.
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