Former U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MBA ’06 has been appointed the William C. Edwards Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, trading Downing Street for Stanford’s arcades just six months after stepping down as Conservative Party leader.
Sunak becomes another prominent foreign politician to join the ranks of the Hoover Institution — a right-leaning public policy think tank at Stanford — succeeding former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne as the William C. Edwards fellow. He will focus on a wide array of issues including trans-Atlantic relations, economic policy, technology and global security challenges. He resigned as prime minister after the Conservative Party’s historic defeat in July.
In addition to his role at Stanford, Sunak will take up a separate job at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government as a member of its World Leaders Circle. These mark Sunak’s first positions since he returned to the backbenches last year, where he currently serves as the Tory MP for Richmond & Northallerton.
“Oxford and Stanford shaped my life, and I look forward to contributing to their world-class work addressing the challenges and the technological opportunities of our time,” Sunak wrote in an X post announcing his new roles.
While earning his MBA at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) in 2006 as a Fulbright Scholar, Sunak met his wife, Akshata Murthy ’06, daughter of Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy. After graduating, Sunak worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and the hedge fund TCI before co-founding Theleme Partners in California.
From 2022 to 2024, Sunak served as the U.K.’s Prime Minister, making him the first person of color in the role and, at age 42, one of the youngest. His government tackled major foreign policy challenges, including the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza wars, and played a key role in stabilizing the economy amid a cost of living crisis.
Several Stanford students and faculty welcomed Sunak’s appointment.
“I’m thrilled Rishi Sunak will be spending time at Stanford; he’ll be a wonderful resource for faculty and students,” University president and former dean of the GSB Jonathan Levin ’94 wrote to The Daily.
John Bew, a Hoover visiting fellow and Sunak’s former foreign policy advisor, described the former prime minister as “an Atlanticist to his core,” adding, “He has thought deeply about advancing U.S.-U.K. relations in trade, tech, defense, and security. His appointment at Hoover will amplify his ability to address 21st-century challenges.”
Reflecting on Sunak’s time in office, Bew — a Brit — highlighted his leadership during global crises. “Rishi was [prime minister] during an immensely challenging period in foreign affairs,” Bew wrote. “He led the country through a challenging period with great skill and integrity, bolstering our alliances with key countries and forging extremely close personal ties with leaders like President Zelenskyy.”
James Nation, Sunak’s former special advisor and a Stanford lecturer, shared his enthusiasm for the appointment. “It’s great that Stanford gets to benefit from Rishi’s experiences. He was a great boss and great to work for,” he wrote. Nation emphasized Rishi’s experience at “the heart of domestic policy making during some challenging times for the UK in recent years.”
Sunak’s appointment at Stanford follows several British leaders who have taught or spoken at the University, including former Foreign Secretary David Miliband and former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
GSB associate dean for external relations Derrick Bolton M.A. ’98 MBA ’98 served as assistant dean for MBA admissions when Sunak and Murthy were students. Bolton previously told The Daily that the presence of these former British leaders at Stanford gives students “a deeper understanding of the intersections of business and policy.”
Before becoming Prime Minister, Sunak held key roles in the British government, including Chancellor of the Exchequer (2020-2022), Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2019-2020) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing (2018-2019). While in the U.K., Sunak maintained ties to California. He currently owns a $7.2 million beachside home in Santa Monica.
Condoleezza Rice, director of the Hoover Institution and former secretary of state, underscored the importance of Sunak’s new role, stating in a press release, “The United States and the United Kingdom share a very special bond, and we look forward to the impact of his work on the challenges facing democracies and the world in the years to come.”
U.K. student Niklas Vainio ’26 expressed excitement about the former prime minister’s presence on campus, saying, “It’s exciting to have a former prime minister here. Maybe I’ll meet him at an event, which would be pretty cool.”
Vainio hadn’t expected to see U.K. politicians at Stanford, adding, “I heard rumors before the election that if he didn’t win, he might return to teach here. There were people in the U.K. making rumblings that he would just go home to his home in California.”
While acknowledging the former prime minister’s reduced political influence, Vainio still saw value in his presence.
“It’s cool to have more international political representation at Stanford,” he said.
George Porteous contributed reporting.