UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, appointed Suella Braverman as the new Home Secretary after she assumed office on Tuesday, September 6.
Braverman whose father is Kenyan of Christian Goan origin succeeded Priti Patel.
In her new post, she will be responsible for national security, policing and immigration policies in the UK. Home Secretary is one of the UK government's most senior and influential positions.
While accepting the appointment, Braverman recalled how her father, Christie Fernandes, had fled tensions in Kenya after independence.
"On a cold February morning in 1968, a young man, not yet 21, stepped off a plane at Heathrow airport, nervously folding away his one-way ticket from Kenya. He had no family, no friends and was clutching only his most valuable possession, his British passport. His homeland was in political turmoil,” she stated.
The forty two- year old Braverman and mother of two children expressed her desire to transform migration rules in the UK and develop new national security policies.
She also pledged to address the issue of unprocessed asylum cases, burglaries and a crisis of confidence within the police after a series of scandals.
"Great to be at UK Home Office this evening to meet the team as we begin our work: making our streets safer, supporting our security services and controlling immigration," she stated after the appointment.
She forms part of a new team picked by Truss, who assumed office on Tuesday, September 6, ending Boris Johnson's era as UK Prime Minister.
In Boris's government, Braverman was the Attorney General and was among the key advisors to the government.
After Johnson resigned, Braverman was among the leaders who threw a hat in the ring to succeed him both as Conservative Party leader and UK Prime Minister. The race attracted Truss and Rishi Sunak, who also has Kenyan roots. However, Truss garnered the majority vote and was declared as Johnson's successor.
Braverman's appointment followed her earlier decision to pledge her loyalty to Truss after being knocked out of the Tory leadership contest in the second round.
In 2018, she was given her first ministerial job by Theresa May, where she was appointed as Brexit Minister. She resigned from the role but Boris brought her back to the fold in 2020, appointing her as the country's Attorney General.
