Indian-origin Suella Braverman was formally sworn in as UK’s new Attorney General at a ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. She had been appointed for the post, in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s reshuffled Cabinet, earlier this month.
She is the first female Attorney General to be appointed by a Conservative Party government.
The 39-year-old minister, a barrister and Cambridge University law graduate who specialised in public law and judicial review, said her priority will be to restore confidence in the justice system.
"It is a privilege to be sworn in as attorney general and a moment I will cherish as the second woman to be appointed to this historic role”, said Braverman after the ceremony.
"Restoring confidence in the criminal justice system is my top priority. I want to thank my predecessor for his work in this area and his distinguished service to the government,” she said, in reference to the previous Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.
Braverman’s role will involve overseeing the work of the law officers’ departments, which include the independent prosecuting authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Serious Fraud Office.
MP for Fareham in south-east England since 2015, Braverman has been a vocal supporter of Brexit and previously served as a minister in the erstwhile Department for Exiting the European Union. As a former member of the Attorney General’s panel of treasury counsel, she has defended the UK Home Office in immigration cases in the past.
Braverman, whose maiden name is Suella Fernandes, was born in London to migrant parents from Kenya and Mauritius with roots in Goa and South India. She studied law at Queen’s College, University of Cambridge, and went on to complete a Master’s in law from the University of Paris.