Many Britons and Indians praised the appointment of Rishi Sunak in Downing Street, becoming the first British Prime Minister of Indian origin. Yet it is far from being the first in Europe.
Rishi Sunak was officially appointed British Prime Minister on Tuesday, making the pride of many Indians who are delighted to see a politician of Indian origin and Hindu faith arrive in Downing Street. However, it is not the first within Europe.
Rishi Sunak
Former Finance Minister United kingdomRishi Sunak is not only the first head of government of Indian origin, but also the first president from a former British colony. Born on May 12, 1980 in Southampton, on the south coast of England, he is of Indian descent from his ancestors, who hail from the Punjab region in northern India.
The Prime Minister’s parents were born in Kenya and Tanzania, from the Indian diaspora in East Africa. Rishi Sunak also married an Indian businesswoman Akshata Murtithe heiress of a large Indian IT company.
Antonio Costa
In office since 2015, Portuguese socialist Antonio Costa, born Lisbon Who returned for a third term as prime minister last February, also comes from the Indian diaspora. His father was actually born in Mozambique to a family originally from Goa, a port city in southwest India which was the first Portuguese colonial settlement in India.
at the age of 16e century, the Portuguese Empire controlled the Indian Ocean to ensure Portugal’s dominance in the trade 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 of Goa origin, held these positions for a brief period, from August 28 to November 22, 1978.
Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar served as the Prime Minister of Ireland between June 2017 and June 2020. Born in Dublin, he is the son of Ashok Varadkar, born in Bombay in Indiawho settled in the United Kingdom in the 1960s.
In 2019, Leo Varadkar visited his father’s home village in Maharashtra region for the first time, which he described as a “very special moment”.
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