Liz Truss has announced the first ministers in her new Cabinet, making it the most diverse line-up ever seen, with no white men holding the top three positions.
The key roles are now held by new Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, new Home Secretary Suella Braverman, and new Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, taking over from Truss’ own old job.
Some within the Conservative Party were keen for Truss to appoint Rishi Sunak supporters to the top jobs, but she chose instead to reward her own loyalists.
The prime minister also appointed Nadhim Zahawi to the role of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Here’s a look at Zahawi’s background and what the role entails.
What does the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster do?
This ministerial office of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet, immediately after the Prime Minister and senior to the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
Traditionally, the role was appointed by the Sovereign after advice from the Prime Minister and involved managing the estate and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster. However, over time it has become a more political role.
From September 2021, the role was expanded with responsibilities including policy development, particularly around Brexit and other constitutional affairs.
Their responsibilities also include overseeing Cabinet Office policy and appointments, focusing on areas including public sector reform, National Security, science and technology, and veterans issues.
The position has previously been held by Kit Malthouse, Steve Barclay, and Michael Gove.
Who is Nadhim Zahawi?
Before entering politics, Nadhim Zahawi was a co-founder of YouGov, an international market research firm. He served as Chief Executive there until 2010.
For the next eight years, he put his chemical engineering background to use as Chief Strategy Officer for Gulf Keystone Petroleum.
At the same time, he entered political office at the 2010 general election, taking over the seat of previous Tory MP John Maples in Stratfor-upon-Avon.
In Theresa May’s 2018 Cabinet reshuffle, Zahawi became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families.
Under Boris Johnson’s government, he became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Industry and was later given additional responsibility in 2020 for the COVID-19 vaccination programme as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment.
In 2021, he was promoted to Johnson’s Cabinet as Secretary of State for Education, then later took over as Chancellor of the Exchequer in July 2022 after Rishi Sunak resigned.
Less than 48 hours after his appointment, Zahawi withdrew his support from Johnson and called publicly for him to resign.
Following Johnson’s subsequent resignation, Zahawi was then appointed Liz Truss’ new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in her first Cabinet on September 6.
