Who is Kwasi Kwarteng’s wife? All about Harriet Edwards as ex-British finance minister to step down as MP at next election

On February 6, 2024, UK politician and former finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced that he would not stand as MP in the next general elections, expected to be held by January 28, 2025. In his statement, Kwarteng expressed gratitude for the opportunity to "serve the residents of Spelthorne since 2010" and pledged to continue representing them in Parliament until the end of his term.

The controversial politician was appointed Chancellor by former Prime Minister Liz Truss and was fired in just 38 days, making him the second person to have the shortest career as Chancellor after ex-Tory minister Iain MacLeod, who passed away 13 days into his tenure in July 1970.

Kwasi Kwarteng has been married to his long-term partner, Harriet Edwards, whom he wed in 2019. Edwards is a senior solicitor and an alumnus of Cheltenham Ladies College. The couple became proud parents to a baby girl, Ida, born in October 2021.

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Kwasi Kwarteng's wife, Harriet Edwards, specializes in "succession planning"

According to her LinkedIn page, Harriet Edwards is a private client solicitor at the accounting firm KPMG who specializes in "advising clients on succession and philanthropy." She graduated from Cheltenham Ladies' College in 2004 and studied European Studies with French and Spanish, History, and Modern Languages at Trinity College in Dublin from 2004 to 2008.

She began her career as a Business Development Manager at the auction house Christie's in Geneva, after which she worked at UBS Investment Bank in New York, as per her LinkedIn page.

She slowly climbed the corporate ladder as the senior solicitor and manager at PwC, after which she made the shift to KMPG. Apart from her illustrious career, Edwards is also a netball player.

It is unclear where Kwarteng and Edwards met. However, the former proposed to Edwards at her mother's house in Derbyshire, and the couple tied the knot in December 2019.

The couple bought a Victorian house in Greenwich in 2021, just 350 yards away from Liz Truss' house.

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Kwasi Kwarteng's short stint as Chancellor led to the ill-fated "mini-budget" in 2022

As per The Guardian, Kwasi Kwarteng was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Liz Truss' cabinet after she became the UK's short-lived Prime Minister. In his tenure as Chancellor, Kwarteng introduced what was dubbed the "mini-budget," which proposed an array of tax cuts.

However, this move raised concern among UK economists, who postulated that it might force the country to start borrowing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) later asked Britain to “re-evaluate” its plans, warning that the mini-budget was likely to “increase inequality.”

Liz Truss fired Kwasi Kwarteng just 38 days into his tenure (Image via Getty Images)

And not just that, the mini-budget caused the pound sterling value to plummet to a record-breaking low against the US dollar in 37 years. This economic downturn caused Truss to fire Kwasi Kwarteng as the Chancellor just 38 days into his role. Liz Truss herself resigned from the office after a mere 45 days, making her Britain's shortest-serving prime minister.

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Born to Ghanaian parents, Kwasi Kwarteng is a graduate of Eton College, Trinity College, Harvard University, and Cambridge University. He worked at the London hedge fund Odey Asser Management before being elected as MP for Spelthorn in 2010.