UK Truss Government Forms First Cabinet Without Any White Men in Four Key Positions

Inaugural Speech: "The Stronger the Storm, the Stronger the British"... First Black Appointed as Chancellor and Foreign Minister

New Prime Minister Liz Truss, the third female Prime Minister in British history, is delivering her inaugural speech on the 6th (local time) in front of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's residence in London.
[Photo by Xinhua News Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, took office on the 6th (local time) and appointed minorities including Black people and women to key positions such as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, and Foreign Secretary. For the first time, both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary are Black. As a result, the UK formed its first cabinet without any white men in key positions. In her inaugural speech, Prime Minister Truss emphasized the need to unite to overcome the current crisis facing the UK.

New Prime Minister Truss officially took office after meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on the same day. Known as the "second Iron Lady," she is the third female Prime Minister of the UK, following Margaret Thatcher (1979?1990) and Theresa May (2016?2019).

According to BBC and CNN, in her inaugural speech held in front of 10 Downing Street in London, Truss said, "The stronger the storm, the stronger the British people become," and emphasized, "I am confident that if we stand together, we can weather the storm." She also promised to unveil an energy policy bill within this week to address soaring living costs.

Truss stressed that she would solve issues related to energy and the National Health Service (NHS) to lay the foundation for the UK's long-term success. She also vowed to protect democracy and freedom from the threat posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Truss government is launching amid the worst economic crisis, including the Russia-Ukraine war and double-digit inflation rates not seen in 40 years. The Bank of England (BOE), the central bank, has warned of a prolonged recession from the fourth quarter of this year through the end of next year, and the pound has plummeted to its lowest level since 1975.

She pledged to revive the UK economy through tax cuts and bold fiscal spending, and a large-scale energy support plan is expected to be announced as early as the 8th. Bloomberg previously reported that the Truss government has prepared a draft fiscal spending plan worth ?130 billion (approximately 206 trillion KRW).

From the top left clockwise: Quoczi Quateng, Minister of Finance; James Cleverly, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Suela Braverman, Minister of the Interior; Therese Kofi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Welfare.

On the same day, Kwasi Kwarteng, who served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the previous Boris Johnson cabinet, was appointed as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer to lead bold fiscal spending. He is the first Black Chancellor in history. Kwarteng’s parents immigrated from Ghana to the UK in the 1960s. He attended the prestigious Eton College and Cambridge University and worked in the financial sector.

In an op-ed published on the 4th, he argued that the Truss government would not be ashamed of pro-growth policies and that the UK has a lower debt-to-GDP ratio than Germany among the G7 countries, so there is no reason for austerity.

With Truss’s appointment as Prime Minister, the vacant Foreign Secretary position was also filled by the first Black minister. James Cleverly, whose mother is from Sierra Leone and father is white, was appointed Foreign Secretary. Cleverly has served as Minister for the Middle East and North Africa and Minister for Europe and North America.

Suella Braverman, who competed against Truss in the Conservative Party leadership race, was appointed Home Secretary. Braverman supported Truss after being eliminated from the leadership contest. Both of Braverman’s parents are of Indian descent and are known to have immigrated to the UK from Kenya and Mauritius in the 1960s, respectively.

Truss’s longtime political ally Therese Coffey was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Ben Wallace, the Defense Secretary who received praise for his response to the Ukraine crisis, retained his position.

Penny Mordaunt, who competed until the final round in the Conservative Party leadership race and served as Minister of State for International Trade, was appointed Leader of the House of Commons. Mordaunt consistently held second place behind former Chancellor Rishi Sunak during the leadership contest but was overtaken by Truss in the final fifth round, preventing her from advancing to the runoff vote.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.