UK, Ireland And Scotland State Heads Are All From The Indian Subcontinent Now

In less than six months’ time, Rishi Sunak has become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Leo Varadkar is back for a second term as Ireland’s PM, and now Humza Yousaf has been elected as Scotland’s next First Minister. The common factor between all three leaders is that their family roots lie in the Indian subcontinent.

While both Sunak and Varadkar are of Indian origin, Yousaf’s grandparents arrived in Scotland from Pakistan in the 1960s.

It seems like the Indian subcontinent has become a cradle of talent for global leaders. Portugal’s Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa is also of Indian descent, and Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, both of Indian origins, have launched their bids 2024 US Presidential elections.

England, Scotland, and Ireland now have men of Indian subcontinent origins as their state heads. This is also a big deal because till 1947 Britain ruled the undivided India.

England, Scotland, and Ireland now have men of Indian subcontinent origins as their state heads. (Photo: Getty Images)
We take a look at the profiles of the three UK state heads and how they made it to the top.

Humza Yousaf

Humza Yousaf won the Scottish National Party leadership contest on Monday (March 27) and is now all set to become Scotland’s First Minister replacing Nicola Sturgeon. “I will be a First Minister for all of Scotland. I will work every minute of every day to earn and to re-earn your respect and your trust,” Yousaf said in his acceptance speech.

37-year-old Yousaf became the first Muslim leader of a major UK political party and also the first Muslim to lead a country in Western Europe.

Yousaf, who ran on a platform dedicated to rejoining the European Union, delivering Scottish independence, solving the cost-of-living crisis, and transitioning to renewable energy, won 52% of the final votes cast.

Yousaf becomes the first Muslim to lead a country in Western Europe.

His father is originally from Pakistan and emigrated to Scotland with his family in the 1960s, while his mother was born into a South Asian family in Kenya.

After studying at Glasgow University, Yousaf briefly worked in a call centre. His entry into the politics came as he became a parliamentary assistant to SNP MSP Bashir Ahmad and Alex Salmond. He served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Pollok since 2016, and for Glasgow between 2011 and 2016. In 2016, he became the Transport Minister, was promoted again in 2018 as the new Justice Secretary, and became the Health Secretary of Scotland in 2021.

Rishi Sunak

On October 25 last year, Rishi Sunak became Britain’s third Prime Minister inside a year and the first person of colour to lead the nation. Sunak became the ruling Conservatives’ new leader by defeating rival contender Penny Mordaunt after Liz Truss’s 49-day tenure came to an end.

The MP for Richmond in Yorkshire first entered the UK Parliament in 2015 and quickly rose up the Conservative Party ranks. He became quite popular as a staunch Brexit supporter.

Sunak had co-founded a 1-billion-pound global investment firm and specialised in investing in small British businesses before he decided to enter into politics.

Last year, Rishi Sunak became thee first person of colour to lead Britain.

In the government, he started as Junior Minister for local government in 2018 and became the Chief Secretary to the treasury in 2019. In 2020, he became the Chancellor of the exchequer, the most important UK Cabinet post.

After going through a tough 100 days as the UK faced one of its worst economic crises ever, last month Sunak overhauled the government departments and reshuffled his cabinet. Sunak named Greg Hands as his new party Chairman and unveiled a new government department focused on energy security.

Leo Varadkar

Just weeks after Sunak became the PM of the UK, Leo Eric Varadkar, another Indian-origin politician returned as the Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland) in December last year. He was first elected as Ireland Prime Minister in 2017. At 38, he was the youngest Ireland PM.

During the campaign for the 2015 same-sex marriage referendum, Varadkar came out as gay, becoming the first serving Irish minister to do so. As the Covid pandemic it the world, Varadkar re-registered as a doctor and returned to work once a week while continuing to lead the country.

At 38, Leo Varadkar was the youngest Ireland Prime Minister.

Varadkar’s father was born in Mumbai and moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s to work as a doctor. Varadkar was born in Dublin and studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin. After spending several years as a non-consultant hospital doctor, he joined the Fine Gael party and became a member of Fingal County Council, and later served as Deputy Mayor of Fingal. He was elected to Dáil Éireann (lower house) in 2007.

Varadkar is back as the PM of Ireland because of a rotational coalition deal struck in 2020. He promises to tackle the housing and cost of living crises in the country.

DailyO