Who is Liz Truss? Early Life, Professional Career, Political Achievements, Controversies & More

The race to replace Boris Johnson came to an end with Liz Truss defeating Rishi Sunak with 81,326 votes to 60,399 among party members. Two candidates contesting against each other  for the position were Indian-origin former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak or Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party.

Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country.

I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom’s potential. pic.twitter.com/xCGGTJzjqb

— Liz Truss (@trussliz) September 5, 2022

Do you know about the newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss, her early life, education, career, achievements and more. If not then continue reading:

Who is Liz Truss?

Liz Truss, full name is Mary Elizabeth Truss. The British Politician is serving as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021 along with being Minister for Women and Equalities since 2019. She has been Member of Parliament for South West NorFolk since 2010 and served for various cabinet positions under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. 

During all her tenure, she initiated reforms in different existing policies like childcare, mathematics, education and economy. Liz kept the foundation stone for Free Enterprise Group of Conservative MPs and authored or co-authored a number of papers and books, including After the Coalition (2011) and Britannia Unchained (2012).

Other than Rishi Sunak, Truss is one of the two remaining candidates in the 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.

Early Life

The British politician Liz Truss was born on 26 July 1975 in Oxford, England. Her father John Kenneth was a well known professor of pure mathematics at the University of Leeds, whereas her mother was a nurse, teacher and part of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. 

 Truss attended West Primary School, Paisley Renfrewshire and later Roundhay School for higher studies. For further education, she spent a year in Canada and praised its coherent curriculum and Canadian curriculum which added to her personal growth. In 1996, Elizabeth got her graduation degree from Oxford.

Truss developed interest in the matter of state with the presidency of Oxford University Liberal Democrats and as a member of the national executive committee of Liberal Democrat Youth and Students. Being an active member of the Liberal democrats, Liz supported the legalization of cannabis and  eradication of the monarchy and called out against Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

Liz Truss officially joined Conservative Party in 1996. However, her choice to contest Parliament election as a conservative was not supported by his father.

Personal Life & Family

Liz's personal life is full of high and low. His marriage with Hugh O’Leary was surrounded with controversies. Liz got married to his fellow accountant and has two daughters. According to media reports, she had an extramarital affair with the married MP Mark Field, who was appointed as her political mentor by the Conservative Party. However, there was no news of separation or dispute between Liz or Hugh.

One other most talked about controversy was about Liz's religious faith. Truss made a remark, “ I share the values of the Christian faith and the Church of England, but I am not a regular practising religious person.” This statement striked feud among the people.

Mary Elizabeth Liz Professional Career

Elizabeth, being the active liberal democrat, also worked for Shell as a Chartered Management Accountant from 1996 to 2000. She was promoted to the position of Economic Director by Cable & Wireless before his resignation. 

During the span, she lost her first two elections. The disheartened Truss turned into a full-time Deputy Director of REFORM in January 2008. Here she focussed on implementing rigorous academic standards in the school, managing serious crime and the need to deal with Britain’s falling competitiveness. Also, this was the period when she co-authored The Value of Mathematics, Fit for Purpose, A New Level and Back To Black: Budget 2009 Paper & more.

Liz Truss Political Career

After two unsuccessful Greenwich London Borough Council elections in 1998 and 2002, Truss won the chair of Lewisham Deptford Conservative Association. However, Truss was elected as a councilor for Eltham South in the Greenwich London Borough Council election on 4 May 2006.

The different ministries and positions handled by Liz Truss are as follows:

• Junior ministerial career (2012–2014)
• Environment Secretary (2014–2016)
• Justice Secretary (2016–2017)
• Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2017–2019)
• International Trade Secretary (2019–2021)
• Foreign Secretary (2021–present)

Mary Liz Truss Initiatives or Suggestions

• Liz founded the Free Enterprise Group of Conservative MPs to improve the entrepreneurial economy.
• Truss suggests Britain to reduce economic dependency on China and Russia.
• Truss requested Conservative Party to reject the zero-sum game of identity politics.
• She also stated that the government departments should withdraw from Stonewall's diversity champions scheme.
• Truss voted for gay marriag but has also moved to limit trans rights to avoid exploitation of the privileges.

2022 Conservative Party leadership election

Truss announced her intention to contest for  the Conservative Party leadership election to replace Boris Johnson. She pledged to cut taxes after being elected to help people deal with the cost of living. Further she announced her long-term plans to bring down the size of the state and the tax burden.

Liz Truss, the newly appointed Prime Minister will take oath as the next prime minister of the United Kingdom on Tuesday. The ceremony will move forward with the appointment of her cabinet with no white members for the first time.

According to reports, Liz Truss is the third female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. She will meet Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she will be formally appointed as the country’s prime minister. 

On other hand, the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson after his speech outside Downing Street will travel to Scotland to meet Queen Elizabeth at the same castle to officially buckle down from the prime ministerial position.