Lawyer, Brexiteer, now UK’s new home secretary: Meet Indian-origin Suella Braverman

British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Tuesday appointed Suella Braverman, an Indian-origin barrister, as the UK’s new Home Secretary, succeeding fellow colleague of Indian descent Priti Patel.

Suella Braverman, 42, is a Conservative Party MP for Fareham in south-east England. She had served as the attorney general in the Boris Johnson-led government. She is one of 28 so-called “Spartan” Tory MPs who had refused to back former prime minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal on all three occasions it was voted on in Parliament.

Suella Braverman was born on April 3, 1980 and christened Sue-Ellen Cassiana Fernandes. She is the daughter of Hindu Tamil mother Uma and Goan-origin father Christie Fernandes. Her mother migrated to the UK from Mauritius, while her father migrated from Kenya in the 1960s.

She was elected as the Conservative MP for Fareham in May 2015. Suella Braverman was among the first contenders to throw her hat in the ring to replace Boris Johnson as Tory leader and Prime Minister, after the latter was forced to resign amid multiple scandals, including partygate.

After being knocked out of the race in the second round of the initial ballot, Suella Braverman threw her support behind Liz Truss, who as prime minister, has rewarded her with one of the highest offices in the UK government.

According to a BBC report, Suella Braverman will be tasked with projects such as the government’s plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, which has faced legal challenges.

The former attorney general is known for her pro-Brexit stand. She is a prominent member of the pro-Brexit wing of the Conservatives who wants a clear break from Europe, including taking the UK out of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The Indian-origin Cambridge University graduate married Rael Braverman in 2018, and her maternity leave famously brought about an overdue legal change last year. She remained a cabinet minister while away to give birth to their second child.

Braverman is a Buddhist who attends the London Buddhist Centre regularly and took her oath of office in Parliament on the “Dhammapada,” the scripture of Lord Buddha’s sayings.