Under Prime Minister Liz Truss, there was a change in a significant position of the British government on Friday, October 14, 2022.

Following repercussions from a mini-budget delivered last month, Kwasi Kwarteng, Chancellor of the Exchequer and close supporter of the Prime Minister, was removed after six weeks in office.

The budget has now prompted market volatility and a rebellion among UK Conservative parliamentary members.

Kwarteng reportedly returned to No. 10 Downing Street where he received official notice of his dismissal after cutting short his trip to the United States of America where he had been attending the IMF/World Bank meetings.

In a statement released after his firing, the British-born Ghanaian admitted that even before taking up the job, he knew he could not tow the lines of those before him, thereby needing to adopt more drastic approaches.

Shortly after Kwasi Kwarteng was fired, a new candidate was appointed in the person on Jeremy Hunt to serve as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Hunt is a known figure in the UK Conservative Party and has previously served as health secretary and foreign secretary.

He has on two occasions contested the Conservative party leadership slot where he lost both times.

Ahead of Liz Truss’ selection to lead the party, Jeremy Hunt was a keen supporter of former chancellor Rishi Sunak over Liz Truss.

The rather popular figure however almost came close in 2019 in the leadership race with Boris Johnson named as the winner and Jeremy finished second.

Jeremy Hunt is coming to the position as UK Chancellor of Exchequer at a time when the country is facing high inflationary pressures, tumbling currency, rising cost of living and among others.

About Jeremy Hunt

According to the BBC, Jeremy Hunt is a 55-year-old Conservative Member of the UK parliament. Prior to his political life, he grew up in Surrey town of Godalming in the United Kingdom.

He attended Charterhouse School, where he was the head boy who was widely known for his love of cross-country running.

He later attended the prestigious Oxford University where some say his political career began. Hunt during his journey in the University served as president of the Conservative Association.

Prior to being elected to parliament in 2005, Jeremy had a career as an English teacher in Japan and as an entrepreneur where he co-founded the Hotcourses education publisher.

In 2017, the Hotcourses was sold to an investor which earned Hunt a reported net profit of £14 million, making him one of the richest politicians in the UK.

From 2005 to 2007, Jeremy Hunt became the shadow minister for persons with disability. This was somewhat his reward for supporting former UK prime minister, David Cameron.

In 2010, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government was formed where Jeremy Hunt served in cabinet as secretary of state for culture, Olympics, media and sport.

He also played a pivotal role in the 2012 London Olympics.

However, in politics, there is never a trade-off without scandal as calls grew in 2012 for Jeremy Hunt to resign over his alleged involvement in the BSkyB takeover bid.

It was alleged that Hunt had close contacts with the media empire of controversial mogul Rupert Murdoch but he survived the saga and was appointed health secretary in 2012.

His tenure as the health secretary came at a time when the NHS was facing financial turmoil and challenges.