British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is expected to take the reins as prime minister after defeating former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in their race for leadership of the ruling Conservative Party, the party’s 1922 Committee announced Monday. She will meet Queen Elizabeth II for the “kissing of hands” ceremony with the monarch on Tuesday. After the queen formally asks her to form a government, she will become the United Kingdom’s third female premier, following Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.
Truss, 47, was born in Oxford and graduated from the University of Oxford in 1996. While in university, she was active in the Liberal Democratic Party. After graduation, her politics turned to the right and she joined the Conservative Party. She worked for 10 years in the energy and telecommunications industries.
Truss was elected as a Conservative member of Parliament in 2010. She has served in a variety of government departments since 2012, including as international trade secretary and minister for women and equalities. In September 2021, she became foreign secretary in Boris Johnson’s cabinet.
Truss married Hugh O’Leary in 2000. They live in Greenwich, in southeast London, and have two daughters, Frances and Liberty.