Rishi Sunak is big news for being the first ever non-White, first ever Indian, first ever Hindu PM of UK and the youngest in 200 years at 42 years. He is also its shortest since WW 2, UK media says. He is 5ft 6 inches, only one inch taller than the World War II-time PM Winston Churchill who stood at 5ft 5 inches.
Several other European leaders are also not exactly tall. French president Emmanuel Macron is only 5ft 7in, while Germany's chancellor Olaf Scholz is shortish at 5ft 5. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is 5ft 5.
Whilst Napoleon is always being called short he was of contemporary average height - around 5ft 5in. English cartoonist James Gillray made him look so short.
North Americans have done better in the height class. Joe Biden is 5ft 10, whilst Canada's Justin Trudeau is 6ft 1 but so is European Dutch PM Mark Rutte who is 6ft 3in. But Vladimir Putin is only an inch taller than Rishi while North Korean Kim Jong Un is just 5ft 2in.
Rishi’s predecessor Liz Truss was around 5ft 5in, whilst their past boss Boris Johnson was just under 5ft 8. Previous PM David Cameron is just over 6ft, whilst Theresa May is 5ft.8.
Former Labour Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are 6ft and 5ft 11in respectively, whilst Margaret Thatcher was 5ft 5in.Her successor John Major is 5ft 11in.
Going back further, Labour's James Callaghan was 6ft 1in, but his party colleague Harold Wilson, who served twice as PM, was 5ft 8.
Height sensitive Sunak ?
Last year, it was reported that the then PM Boris Johnson was appointing tall ministers to annoy Rishi Sunak. In September 2021, Boris appointed 6ft 5in Simon Clarke as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Economic Secretary John Glen, was more than 6ft. Rishi Sunak is a bit sensitive about his height and often positions himself in photos so that he doesn’t look “not –so- tall”, Daily Mail has said.
The average height for a man in the UK is 5ft 9in, whilst for a woman it is 5ft 3in.
Rishi Sunak is not only the first Indian origin PM but also the youngest in more than 200 years at the age of 42.
Sunak's ascendency from MP to PM is the fastest in modern political history, having first won the constituency of Richmond in North Yorkshire in 2015. He seems to be tall in every way except that bit about inches from the head to heel.