Keir Starmer: Human rights lawyer, Arsenal fan, son of a toolmaker; UK PM who defeated Rishi Sunak

Britain's new prime minister Keir Starmer is an ex-human rights lawyer and public prosecutor. He assumes office at a time when he will have to focus his relentless work ethic and methodical mind on fixing the country, according to a report by news agency AFP. At 61, Starmer is the oldest person to take the role in almost half a century, but was only elected to parliament nine years ago.

The new Prime Minister of United Kingdom is an ardent football fan and supports Arsenal when the team plays on the field. A father of two, Starmer is unlike most politicians. As per AFP, he had a long and distinguished career before becoming an MP and his views are rooted in pragmatism rather than ideology.

Born on September 2, 1962, Keir Rodney Starmer was raised in a cramped, pebbledashed semi-detached house on the outskirts of London by a seriously ill mother and an emotionally distant father. "My dad was a toolmaker, my mum was a nurse," often told voters. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, but rarely uses the prefix "Sir", and in 2015 was elected as a member of parliament, representing a seat in left-leaning north London.

A talented musician, Starmer had violin lessons at school with Norman Cook, the former Housemartins bassist who became DJ Fatboy Slim. He had three siblings, one of whom had learning difficulties. His parents were animal lovers who rescued donkeys.

The subjects that he chose for specialist study in his last two years at school were mathematics, music and physics. Starmer studied law at the University of Leeds. He graduated with first class honours and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1985, becoming the first member of his family to graduate. Thereafter, he did his postgraduate studies at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, graduating from the University of Oxford as a Bachelor of Civil Law.

A family man, Starmer has pledged to maintain his habit of not trying not to work after 6:00 pm on Friday evenings to spend time with his wife Victoria, who works as an occupational therapist in the National Health Service, and their two teenage children, who he does not name in public.