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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has been appointed as the country’s new Foreign Secretary in a surprise appointment by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he reshuffled his cabinet.
It was the latest reset for Sunak whose party has trailed the main opposition Labour Party by double-digit margins throughout his time in power and is widely tipped to lose the next election slated for 2024.
Cameron’s return to government suggests Sunak wants to bring in more centrist, experienced hands rather than appease the right flank of his party that supported Braverman. His unexpected return to British politics comes after he spent the last seven years writing his memoirs and pursuing business interests, including in Greensill Capital, a finance firm that later collapsed.
In a statement released shortly after his new role was announced, Cameron said Britain was “facing a daunting set of international challenges, including the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East.”
“While I have been out of front-line politics for the last seven years, I hope that my experience – as Conservative leader for 11 years and Prime Minister for six – will assist me in helping the Prime Minister to meet these vital challenges,” he said.
It is rare for a non-lawmaker to take a senior government post, and it has been decades since a former Prime Minister held a cabinet job.
The move also marks the return to government of a leader brought down by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.Cameron called the 2016 Brexit referendum, confident the country would vote to stay in the bloc.
He resigned the day after voters opted to leave.