<p>Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid were two of the biggest hitters in UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government until they quit on Tuesday in protest at his scandal-hit leadership.</p>.<p>Sunak, 42, had been on a meteoric trajectory to power that could have made him Britain's first Hindu prime minister.</p>.<p>Javid, 10 years Sunak's senior and also with a past career in high finance, was his immediate predecessor, and a polished political performer.</p>.<p>But they resigned within minutes of each other, just as Johnson apologised for his handling of a sleaze scandal engulfing one of his senior colleagues.</p>.<p>The resignations -- after a succession of crises that led to a vote of confidence in Johnson's leadership -- did nothing to dampen speculation that both men still have an eye on the top job.</p>.<p>Sunak was barely known to the British public when Johnson made him chancellor of the exchequer in February 2020, after only five years in Conservative politics following a lucrative career in hedge funds.</p>.<p>A month later, Johnson ordered the first nationwide lockdown, forcing Sunak to craft a massive financial rescue package to safeguard millions of jobs.</p>.<p>But since restrictions were lifted, he has come under increasing pressure, as a cost-of-living crisis worsens, sending inflation to 40-year highs and leaving many Britons struggling to make ends meet.</p>.<p>In the midst of spiralling prices, Sunak found himself on the back foot over his wife's financial affairs, and criticism from fellow Tories about his moves to increase taxes for millions.</p>.<p>Revelations that his wife Akshata Murty -- whose billionaire father founded the Indian tech behemoth Infosys -- did not pay UK tax caused a storm of protest.</p>.<p>The teetotal Sunak also found himself fined by police for briefly attending an impromptu birthday party for Johnson during Covid restrictions in 2020.</p>.<p>Oxford-educated Sunak -- the first person born in the 1980s to hold one of the so-called four great offices of state -- appeared suitably chastened.</p>.<p>He has cut a contrasting figure from Johnson both in public and in private.</p>.<p>While Johnson's governing style has been described as chaotic, seemingly making policy on the hoof, Sunak is a details-oriented wonk.</p>.<p>Unlike Johnson's tousled hair and dishevelled appearance, Sunak has crafted a carefully curated image on social media, with designer clothes, top-of-the-range gadgets and a photogenic dog.</p>.<p>Sunak, whose grandparents came from the Indian Punjab, has two daughters with Murty. They met while students in California.</p>.<p>Johnson, thrice-married, has at least seven children and a catalogue of past lovers.</p>.<p>Javid, the Muslim son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver who fought racism growing up in a tough neighbourhood of Bristol, western England, has quit Johnson's cabinet before.</p>.<p>His seven-month stint as chancellor was rocked by rumours of deep divisions with Johnson's former chief political adviser Dominic Cummings.</p>.<p>He quit after Brexit architect Cummings tried to force him to fire all his top advisers and replace them with ones from Downing Street.</p>.<p>Javid's refusal and resignation paused what had also been a skyrocketing political career, after he served as interior minister under former prime minister Theresa May.</p>.<p>As finance minister, he was effectively second in command just as Britain was facing a crash exit from the European Union.</p>.<p>He replaced Philip Hammond as chancellor when the prospects of a messy divorce after 46 years was unnerving markets and sending the pound to multi-year lows.</p>.<p>The father of four, a free market champion who admires Margaret Thatcher, already had first-hand experience navigating financial turmoil.</p>.<p>Javid made big bets and huge profits as a derivatives trader for Deutsche Bank during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. His tax affairs at the time have come in for recent scrutiny.</p>.<p>Javid's pro-market instincts saw him vote in 2016 to remain in the European Union because of its economic benefits to trade.</p>.<p>But he later rallied to the Brexit cause and ended his own Tory leadership challenge to support Johnson.</p>.<p>He was appointed to health in June 2021, when his predecessor Matt Hancock quit after being caught having an affair with an adviser, in breach of social distancing guidelines.</p>
<p>Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid were two of the biggest hitters in UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government until they quit on Tuesday in protest at his scandal-hit leadership.</p>.<p>Sunak, 42, had been on a meteoric trajectory to power that could have made him Britain's first Hindu prime minister.</p>.<p>Javid, 10 years Sunak's senior and also with a past career in high finance, was his immediate predecessor, and a polished political performer.</p>.<p>But they resigned within minutes of each other, just as Johnson apologised for his handling of a sleaze scandal engulfing one of his senior colleagues.</p>.<p>The resignations -- after a succession of crises that led to a vote of confidence in Johnson's leadership -- did nothing to dampen speculation that both men still have an eye on the top job.</p>.<p>Sunak was barely known to the British public when Johnson made him chancellor of the exchequer in February 2020, after only five years in Conservative politics following a lucrative career in hedge funds.</p>.<p>A month later, Johnson ordered the first nationwide lockdown, forcing Sunak to craft a massive financial rescue package to safeguard millions of jobs.</p>.<p>But since restrictions were lifted, he has come under increasing pressure, as a cost-of-living crisis worsens, sending inflation to 40-year highs and leaving many Britons struggling to make ends meet.</p>.<p>In the midst of spiralling prices, Sunak found himself on the back foot over his wife's financial affairs, and criticism from fellow Tories about his moves to increase taxes for millions.</p>.<p>Revelations that his wife Akshata Murty -- whose billionaire father founded the Indian tech behemoth Infosys -- did not pay UK tax caused a storm of protest.</p>.<p>The teetotal Sunak also found himself fined by police for briefly attending an impromptu birthday party for Johnson during Covid restrictions in 2020.</p>.<p>Oxford-educated Sunak -- the first person born in the 1980s to hold one of the so-called four great offices of state -- appeared suitably chastened.</p>.<p>He has cut a contrasting figure from Johnson both in public and in private.</p>.<p>While Johnson's governing style has been described as chaotic, seemingly making policy on the hoof, Sunak is a details-oriented wonk.</p>.<p>Unlike Johnson's tousled hair and dishevelled appearance, Sunak has crafted a carefully curated image on social media, with designer clothes, top-of-the-range gadgets and a photogenic dog.</p>.<p>Sunak, whose grandparents came from the Indian Punjab, has two daughters with Murty. They met while students in California.</p>.<p>Johnson, thrice-married, has at least seven children and a catalogue of past lovers.</p>.<p>Javid, the Muslim son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver who fought racism growing up in a tough neighbourhood of Bristol, western England, has quit Johnson's cabinet before.</p>.<p>His seven-month stint as chancellor was rocked by rumours of deep divisions with Johnson's former chief political adviser Dominic Cummings.</p>.<p>He quit after Brexit architect Cummings tried to force him to fire all his top advisers and replace them with ones from Downing Street.</p>.<p>Javid's refusal and resignation paused what had also been a skyrocketing political career, after he served as interior minister under former prime minister Theresa May.</p>.<p>As finance minister, he was effectively second in command just as Britain was facing a crash exit from the European Union.</p>.<p>He replaced Philip Hammond as chancellor when the prospects of a messy divorce after 46 years was unnerving markets and sending the pound to multi-year lows.</p>.<p>The father of four, a free market champion who admires Margaret Thatcher, already had first-hand experience navigating financial turmoil.</p>.<p>Javid made big bets and huge profits as a derivatives trader for Deutsche Bank during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. His tax affairs at the time have come in for recent scrutiny.</p>.<p>Javid's pro-market instincts saw him vote in 2016 to remain in the European Union because of its economic benefits to trade.</p>.<p>But he later rallied to the Brexit cause and ended his own Tory leadership challenge to support Johnson.</p>.<p>He was appointed to health in June 2021, when his predecessor Matt Hancock quit after being caught having an affair with an adviser, in breach of social distancing guidelines.</p>