For the first time ever, white men were not included in any of the three senior-most cabinet positions when Liz Truss unveiled her new top team on Tuesday, the day after she officially succeeded Boris Johnson as UK prime minister.
She promoted Kwasi Kwarteng to the position of finance, James Cleverly to that of foreign affairs, and Suella Braverman to that of interior, as was to be expected, as a reward for their support during her successful Conservative leadership campaign.
Kwarteng, the son of immigrants from Ghana, is the nation’s first black chancellor of the exchequer. His primary concern will be improving Britain’s dire economic circumstances.
Cleverly is a mixed-race army reservist who worked in the foreign office under Truss, while Braverman, whose parents are of Indian origin from Kenya and Mauritius, takes over a difficult brief from Priti Patel.
Cigar-smoking Truss loyalist, Therese Coffey, was made health secretary and deputy prime minister, Downing Street said in a slew of announcements.
Ben Wallace retained the defence ministry, with Truss vowing to extend Johnson’s staunch support for Ukraine.
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