Who is Suella Braverman, Indian-origin minister and new UK home secretary?

Conservative Party leader Suella Braverman has been appointed the new UK home secretary after the resignation of Priti Patel.

Like Patel, Braverman is of Indian origin.

The Rt Hon Suella Braverman QC MP @SuellaBraverman has been appointed Secretary of State for the Home Department @UKHomeOffice.#Reshuffle pic.twitter.com/blwJ7LVySt

— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) September 6, 2022

The 42-year-old member of Parliament for Fareham in south-east England served as the attorney-general in the Boris Johnson-led government until she was appointed  home secretary by new Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Let’s take a look at Suella Braverman’s political career:

Early history and education

Suella Braverman was born in London’s Harrow.

She is the daughter of Uma and Christie Fernandes, a Tamil Hindu-origin and Christian Goan-origin couple who came to England during the 1960s from Kenya and Mauritius.

While her father worked for a housing association in UK, her mother was appointed by National Health Service and worked as a nurse for nearly 45 years. Braverman’s interest in the field stems from her parents’ association with local politics.

Uma served as a councillor for 16 years and Christie was a campaigner for locals.

After attending a local state school, Suella went to Heathfield private school in London where she won a scholarship. From here she went on to study Law at Queen’s College, Cambridge University, followed by gaining a Master’s Degree in European and French Law from the Pantheon-Sorbonne in Paris before qualifying as an Attorney in the New York State.

According to a report by The Guardian, Braverman showed ambition to become an MP at a very young age and attended Conservative events in Harrow.

Before being elected in Fareham in 2015, she had fought for several Labour and Liberal Democratic-dominated seats.

In 2018, she married Rael Braverman, a manager at Mercedes. They have two children.

Suella was appointed Brexit minister in 2018 by then prime minister Theresa May, her first ministerial job.

However, her role as a Brexit minister was short-lived as she soon resigned from the post after the then Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, stepped down from his post over a disagreement with May’s proposed divorce deal with the European Union.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson brought her back into the fold by appointing her attorney-general in 2020.

Attack on ‘rights culture’

As an attorney-general, Suella attacked what she described as a “rights culture” that did not exist in Britain before 1998, a year after Tony Blair became the country’s prime minister.

According to a report by Mirror UK, the Brexit supporter claimed that many institutions are “misinterpreting” the Equality Act.

“We now have a ‘rights culture’ in a way that did not exist prior to 1998,” she said as she delivered a speech to the think-tank called Policy Exchange in 2022.

She added that in England, schools don’t need to allow transgender students to switch their uniforms or use the preferred pronouns of a child.

“It is therefore wrong for schools to suggest that they have legal obligations which mean that they must address children by their preferred pronouns, names, or admit them to opposite sex toilets, sport teams, or dormitories. A right not to suffer discrimination on grounds of gender reassignment is not the same thing as a right of access to facilities provided for the opposite sex,” Braverman added.

She said that true diversity and equality diminish in a society when everyone is divided into separate groups. She added, “This is not what democracy is about and it is not what the law requires.”

Joining PM’s race

The Conservative Party leader was among the first to announce her candidacy to replace Boris Johnson as UK’s prime minister.

Before making her announcement, Braverman called on Boris Johnson to step down after the ‘Partygate Scandal’, according to a report by The Quint.

She had expected to garner some support from the pro-Brexit wing of the party.

She said, “I am putting myself forward because I believe that the 2019 manifesto is fit for purpose, presents a bold and inspiring vision for our country and I want to deliver on the promises contained in that manifesto. I want to embed the opportunities of Brexit and tidy up the outstanding issues and cut taxes.”

However, as per Sky News, Braverman was knocked out of the race in July after receiving only 27 votes in the second round of the contest.

Congratulations @trussliz on being appointed Prime Minister. You bring a track record of delivery, a plan for our current challenges and an optimistic vision for the future of our country. https://t.co/zELFP5ivck

— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) September 6, 2022

Following this loss, Suella decided to back Liz Truss and said that she was “impressed” with Truss’ stances on tackling illegal migration and cutting taxes.

A long to-do list

Braverman has a lot on her plate.

According to a report by Independent, Braverman has to quickly tackle controversial issues such as immigration, crime, security and policing.

The task of tackling with the growing numbers of immigrants crossing the English Channel is on top of her to-do list.

Her predecessor, Patel, was unsuccessful in fulfilling her promise to make the crossing ‘unviable’ for immigrants.

In April 2022, the Johnson government signed a deal with Rwanda to send back some of the asylum seekers to the East African nation.

According to an article on Indian Express, Johnson said that the move will “save countless lives.”

However, the legality of the policy is currently being contested in the courts.

Braverman will also have to crack down on violent attacks and shootings in England and Wales where the rate of crime is rising.

She also has to find solutions to make the country safe for women and young girls.

Among other things, Braverman is also tasked with restoring the public’s faith in Britain’s police force after a series of scandals.

She also has to fulfil the promise of hiring 20,000 new police officers by next year.

With inputs from agencies

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