Kwasi Kwarteng

Akwasi Addo Alfred 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 has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Spelthorne since 2010.

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 has 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. He was the first black chancellor. On 23 September, Kwarteng announced various tax cuts in a mini-budget that was widely criticised and which briefly caused the pound sterling to fall to its lowest-ever level against the U.S. 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.