On Tuesday, Indian-origin barrister Suella Braverman became the UK’s new Home Secretary, succeeding her colleague of Indian descent Priti Patel. As a member of Parliament for Fareham in south-east England, who served as the Attorney General under Boris Johnson, she was among the first to put her hat in the ring to replace Johnson as Tory leader and Prime Minister.
The newly-elected Prime Minister Liz Truss has named Braverman as her Home Secretary. In addition to having two children, Uma is the daughter of Christie Fernandes, a Goan-origin father. During the 1960s, her father immigrated from Kenya to the UK, while her mother was born in Mauritius.
According to the BBC, Braverman will oversee projects such as sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda, a plan that has faced legal challenges. A prominent pro-Brexit member of the Conservative party who wants a clear break from Europe, including removing the UK from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Braverman said, “I want to embed the opportunities of Brexit and tidy up outstanding issues… and cut taxes.”
However, she was eliminated in the second round of the initial Tory MP ballot and threw her support behind Truss, who was rewarded with the highest office in government as Prime Minister.
