Kemi Badenoch, of Nigerian descent, has been elected as the leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom.
The Conservatives announced this on Saturday via their official X page, stating: “ANNOUNCED: @KemiBadenoch has been elected Leader of the Conservative Party.”
She defeated Robert Jenrick in the final round of voting, garnering 53,806 votes to Jenrick’s 41,388.
Reacting to the development, Badenoch, who BBC reports is the first Black woman to lead a major political party in the UK, described her election as an “enormous honour,” pledging to hold the ruling Labour government accountable.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer congratulated Kemi Badenoch on her new political role, stating, “The first Black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country. I look forward to working with you and your party in the interests of the British people,” as reported by BBC.
Kemi is stepping into the shoes of Rishi Sunak, the former UK Prime Minister who also led the Conservatives. Under Sunak, the Conservatives lost the UK Prime Minister election in July to the Labour Party.
At 25, Badenoch joined the Conservative Party in 2005 and contested the 2010 general election for the Dulwich and West Norwood constituency against Labour’s Tessa Jowell, finishing third.
After two years, she stood for the Conservatives in the London Assembly election, where she was placed fifth on the London-wide list. In 2015, she became a new Assembly Member after Victoria Borwick resigned her seat and retained her position in the Assembly during the 2016 election.
In 2017, Badenoch was shortlisted to be the Conservative Party’s candidate for the marginal Hampstead and Kilburn constituency but was unsuccessful. However, she was selected as the Conservative candidate for Saffron Walden.
In September 2017, Badenoch was appointed to the 1922 Executive Committee and the Parliamentary Justice Select Committee. A few months later, she became the Conservative Party’s Vice-Chair for Candidates.
In July 2019, she was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In February 2020, she became Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Equalities.
Until 2016, Badenoch served as a board member of the Charlton Triangle Homes housing association and was a school governor at St. Thomas the Apostle College in Southwark and Jubilee Primary School. Her father, Femi, passed away in February 2022.