Liz Truss—was she a remainer? All about the UK Prime Minister candidate challenging Rishi Sunak
Liz Truss, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, and Rishi Sunak, a contender and Richmond’s member of parliament, will compete in the final stages of the prime ministerial election on July 20.
Since the 2016 referendum, Sunak has been a dedicated Brexiteer—someone who supports Britain’s exit from the European Union—whereas Truss was opposed and aggressively campaigned to remain in the EU, becoming a remainer.
Following the announcement of the finalists, Dominic Cummings, a former chief adviser to the British prime minister, used this Twitter handle to make fun of the European Research Group (ERG) for supporting Truss.
Liz Truss
According to Express, Liz Truss refers herself herself as a “genuine Conservative candidate” and has always supported current UK Prime Minister Johnson.
Liz Truss, who was born in 1975, attended Roundhay Secondary School in Leeds, United Kingdom, before her “left-wing” parents relocated there.
She completed her studies in politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University’s esteemed Merton College in 1996. In 1996, she accepted a position with Shell as an accountant, and in 2000, she transferred to Cable & Wireless.
She got married to Hugh O’Leary in 2000. The couple is the parents of two girls.
Four years after she was elected to the House of Representatives and awarded back-to-back Cabinet positions, Liz Truss’ career as a Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk reached a high point.
From 2012 to 2014, she was the junior education minister, and from 2014 to 2016, she was the environment secretary. Under Theresa May, Truss served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from 2016 to 2017. She later served as foreign trade secretary from 2019 to 2021 and chief secretary to the Treasury from 2017 to 2019. She received a promotion to Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade after Boris Johnson was elected Prime Minister. In 2019, she was also made Minister for Women and Equalities.
After a cabinet shuffle in September 2021, she was appointed as the Foreign Secretary. Since Truss led Britain to take the lead in aiding Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine war, many have commended her performance as Foreign Secretary.