Regarded by many in the party as a safe pair of hands, 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.
Since Boris Johnson's rise to Downing Street, he has been a supporter MP and chairman of the Municipalities' Select Committee on Health and Welfare since 2020. Latest on politics: Truss holds a tense press conference after firing the chancellor
The South West Surrey MP was not twice as successful in the Tory Party leadership race, once he lost to Johnson and then was eliminated in the first round of voting in the contest Ms. Truss took over.
Hunt's appointment as chancellor signals a major shift in political direction. He is a more centrist figure than Kwarteng or Truss and is unlikely to share their free-market ideological commitment to tax cuts.
In July, Hunt told Sky News that the corporate tax cut was "not sexy but necessary" as it supported plans to reverse the planned increases. "I'm someone who not only thinks we should stop corporate tax increases, but I think we should take them to the lowest level in Europe and North America," Hunt said.
"No conservative should promise unfunded tax cuts. Because an unfunded tax cut is just an increase in the loans that future generations pay. "
During his tenure as health secretary, Mr. Hunt faced a series of strikes from young doctors regarding salary and contractual changes in work practices.
In his role as foreign minister, he supported the defense of freedom of the press in the world and the protection of Christians against persecution. He was criticized for allowing the UK to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia during its controversial military campaign in Yemen.
The eldest son of Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt, Mr. Hunt went to school at Charterhouse, where he was the principal of the school. He went on to study philosophy, politics and economics at Magdalen College in Oxford, where he earned top marks.
Prior to his political career, Mr. Hunt ran his own educational publishing business. He has also created a charity to help AIDS orphans in Africa, in which he continues to play an active role.