London –

The first black woman to lead a major British political party, Kemi Badenoch is an optimistic and outspoken libertarian who believes the British state is broken – and that she’s the one who will fix it with smaller government and radical new ideas.

THE new leader of Britain’s center-right Conservative Party was born Olukemi Adegoke in London in 1980 to wealthy Nigerian parents – a doctor and academic – and spent much of her childhood in the West African country.

She said Nigeria’s experience of economic and social upheaval had shaped her political vision.

“I grew up in a place where the lights didn’t come on, where we frequently ran out of fuel even though we’re an oil-producing country,” Badenoch told the BBC last week.

“I don’t take for granted what we have in this country,” she said. “I meet a lot of people who think things are good here because things are good here and they always will be. They don’t realize how much work and sacrifice went into getting there.

Returning to the UK at the age of 16 during a period of unrest in Nigeria, she worked part-time at McDonald’s while completing her studies, then studied computer systems engineering at the University of Sussex . She later earned a law degree and worked in financial services.

In 2012, she married banker Hamish Badenoch, with whom she has three children.

She was elected to the London Assembly in 2015 and to Parliament in 2017. She held a series of government posts in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 2019-22 government, before becoming part of a mass ministerial exodus in July 2022 for an ethics series. scandals that triggered Johnson’s downfall.

Badenoch ran unsuccessfully to succeed Johnson, boosting her profile. She was appointed Secretary of Commerce in the 49-day government of Prime Minister Liz Trussand business secretary under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

She retained her seat in Parliament in July national electionswhich saw Labor win a large majority and the Conservatives reduced to 121 lawmakers in the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

Like many Conservatives, Badenoch idolizes Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to lead the party, who transformed Britain through her free-market policies in the 1980s. Citing her engineering background as proof of her ability to solve issues, she describes herself as a disruptor, advocating for a low-tax market economy and pledging to “rewire, reboot and reprogram” the British state.

A critic of multiculturalism and self-proclaimed enemy of wokeness, Badenoch is an opponent of “identity politics”, gender-neutral toilets and government plans to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions.

His supporters believe his charismatic and outspoken style is exactly what the Conservative Party needs to come back from its worst election defeat ever. During his leadership campaign, his supporters wore T-shirts with the message: “Be more Kemi.”

Critics say Badenoch has clashed with colleagues and officials and has a tendency to make rash statements and pick unnecessary fights. During the leadership campaign, she was criticized for saying “not all cultures are equally valid” and for suggesting maternity pay was excessive – although she later walked back that claim.

“I say what I think,” she told the BBC. “And I’m telling the truth.”