Nadhim Zahawi: who is new Chancellor of the Exchequer after Rishi Sunak resigns - wife, net worth, education

Two days after being appointed as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer following Rishi Sunak’s resignation, Nadhim Zahawi called on Boris Johnson to “leave with dignity”.

In a public letter, Zahawi wrote: “The country deserves a Government that is not only stable, but which acts with integrity.

“Prime Minister, you know in your heart what the right thing to do is, and go now.”

Since making his statement, Johnson has announced that he will be stepping down from his position as Prime Minister.

Who is Nadhim Zahawi?

Zahawi is an Iraqi-born British politician who has most recently been appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer, following Rishi Sunak’s resignation.

He was born on 2 June 1967 in Baghdad to Kurdish parents and at the age of nine, he and his family fled persecution under Saddam Hussein’s regime and immigrated to the UK.

In September 2021, Zahawi recalled his experience of leaving Iraq in an interview with Stratford Herald in which he said “it was a huge sacrifice for us to leave our home country”.

He said: “Inevitably, if you have to flee a country, you will leave people behind. For me and my family, this was one of the most difficult parts of our decision to leave Iraq.

“You find yourself asking yourself lots of questions, even as a child, “Why me?”, “Should I stay?”, “Will I see these people again - will they be OK?”.

“I feel extremely blessed that my whole immediate family were able to escape, however, sadly, I did have cousins who weren’t so lucky and were forced to fight in the Iraq/Iran war.”

Speaking on the Political Thinking podcast with Nick Robinson last year, Zahawi said that if his family hadn’t left for the UK, he “would have been drafted into the Iraqi army, had to go to the front line and probably die.”

In his interview with the Stratford Herald, Zahawi said that starting school in the UK was difficult, as he didn’t speak English very well at the time, and children would call him racist names.

“It was hard to fit in initially. Thankfully, being young, I was able to adapt quickly and picked up the language and things began to change,” he said.

Zahawi eventually enrolled at the University College London, where he gained a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.

In 2000, Zahawi co-founded the Internet based market research and data analytics firm YouGov, alongside Stephan Shakespeare, a former spokesperson for Jeffrey Archer.

Zahawi served as YouGov’s CEO from 2005 to 2010. He decided to step down from his position in order to run for election as Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon.

What has his political career been like?

In 1991, Zahawi was an aide to Jeffrey Archer during his “Simple Truth” campaign that aimed to help Kurdish victims of the Gulf War. In 1994, Archer helped campaign for Zahawi for a seat on Wandsworth council.

He was elected as a Conservative councillor in Putney, where he served three terms from 1994 to 2006. He stood as a parliamentary candidate at Erith and Thamesmead in 1997, however came in second to Labour.

After stepping down as YouGov CEO, Zahawi was elected as the Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon in the general election - he was then subsequently reelected in 2015, 2017 and again in 2019.

In 2013, Zahawi was appointed as a member of the Number 10 Policy Unit, with a special responsibility for business and the economy, and the following year he was then elected to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. He was reelected for this committee in 2015.

Later in 2015, Zahawi was chosen by then-Prime Minister David Cameron as the Prime Minister’s Apprenticeship Adviser.

The roles that he has held throughout his career are:

• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Children and Families), from 2018 to 2019
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Business and Industry), from 2019 to 2021
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment), from 2020 to 2021
• Secretary of State for Education, from 2021 to 2022

What does he do outside of politics?

Outside of his political career, Zahawi has a special interest in horse riding and show jumping. He grew up competing in a number of events, including Hickstead Young Riders.

Zahawi owns and runs a riding school from the premises of his private estate and in 2013 he admitted to claiming expenses for electricity used to run the stables on his private estate. He said that the money had been wrongly claimed and eventually repaid £4,000.

In an apology that had been posted on his website, Zahawi claimed that the costs from the horse riding school stables and yard manager’s mobile home, which he runs on his estate, were accidentally calculated as part of the bill for his second home.

He wrote: “Whilst a metre was installed in the stable yard I have only been receiving one bill, it was wrong to assume I was receiving two and to have not checked this sooner.”

He was also a former oil executive, serving as the Chief Strategy Officer for Gulf Keystone Petroleum between 2015 and 2017.

In early 2017, it was reported by the Guardian that Zahawi had spent £25 million buying property around London, for personal and commercial usage.

Is he married?

Zahawi has been married to his wife Lana Fwazi Jamil Saib since 2004. Not much is known about the pair’s relationship, however according to Zahwai’s website, he has three children.

His wife and two sons are listed as the directors of Zahawi and Zahawi Ltd, from which Zawahi resigned as director on 9 January 2018. The firm owns property in Surrey, London, East Sussex and Buckinghamshire, as well as acres of land and a stables in Warwickshire.

It has been reported that Zahawi’s property empire is worth more than £100 million.

What has his voting record been like?

You can see how Zahawi, as well as other MPs, have voted on certain issues using the website They Work For You.

According to Zahawi’s profile, he generally votes the same way on issues as other Conservative MPs.

His voting record includes:

• Consistently voting for university tuition fees - five votes for and zeros votes against between 2010 and 2017
• Almost always voting against UK membership of the EU - zero votes for, 18 votes against and six absences between 2016 and 2019
• Almost always voting for stronger enforcement of immigration rules - eight votes for, zero votes against and one absence between 2015 and 2016
• Consistently voted against spending public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people who have spent a long time unemployed - zero votes for, nine votes against between 2011 and 2014
• Generally voted against measures to prevent climate change - three votes for, 16 votes against and five absences between 2011 and 2020 
• Consistently voted for reforming the NHS so GPs buy services on behalf of their patients - eight votes for and zero votes against between 2011 and 2019

What is the Chancellor of the Exchequer?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Government’s chief financial minister, and is responsible for raising revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling public spending.

The person in this position has overall responsibility for the work of the Treasury.

Their responsibilities cover:

• Fiscal policy (including the presenting of the annual Budget)
• Monetary policy, setting inflation targets
• Ministerial arrangements, in their role as Second Lord of the Treasury
• Overall responsibility for the Treasury’s response to Covid-19