Kwasi Kwarteng has been ousted as chancellor and will be replaced by former foreign secretary and Conservative leadership contender Jeremy Hunt.
The ascension of Mr Hunt, who backed Prime Minister Liz Truss’s rival Rishi Sunak in the fight to become leader, is considered an attempt to restore stability after weeks of rough seas in the wake of the recent mini-budget.
Seen by many in the party as a safe pair of hands, Mr Hunt was previously the longest-serving health minister between 2012 and 2018 and was culture minister between 2010 and 2012 under former prime minister David Cameron. He also held the post of foreign secretary under Theresa May between 2018 and 2019.
Since Boris Johnson’s ascension to Downing Street, he has been a backbench MP and the chair of the Commons health and social care select committee since 2020.
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The MP for South West Surrey has twice been unsuccessful in running for the Tory Party leadership, once losing to Mr Johnson and then being knocked out in the first round of voting in the contest which saw Ms Truss take up the mantle.
Mr Hunt being appointed chancellor signals a major shift in policy direction.
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He is a more centrist figure than either Mr Kwarteng or Ms Truss and is unlikely to share their ideological free market commitment to tax cuts.
In July, Mr Hunt told Sky News cutting corporation tax was “not sexy, but necessary” as he backed plans to reverse the planned rises.
“I’m someone who doesn’t just think that we stop the corporation tax rises, I think we should cut them so that they’re the lowest in Europe and North America,” Mr Hunt said.
“No Conservative should promise unfunded tax cuts. Because an unfunded tax cut is just an increase in borrowing that’s paid for by future generations.”
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During his tenure as health secretary, Mr Hunt was faced with a series of junior doctor strikes over pay and contractual changes to working practices.
In his role as foreign secretary, he championed the defence of media freedom around the world and the protection of Christians from persecution. He was criticised for allowing the UK to sell arms to Saudi Arabia during its controversial military campaign in Yemen.
The oldest son of Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt, Mr Hunt went to school at Charterhouse where he was Head of School. He then read philosophy, politics and economics at Magdalen College in Oxford, where he was awarded a first class honours BA degree.
Before his political career, Mr Hunt ran his own educational publishing business. He also set up a charity to help AIDS orphans in Africa, which he continues to play an active role in.
He lives in Godalming and London with his wife, son and two daughters.
