Rishi Sunak became UK’s third prime minister in seven weeks after meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace and being asked to form a new government.

Sunak is UK’s first PM of color, the first Hindu, and at age 42 the youngest leader in more than 200 years.

In his first speech as prime minister delivered outside his new office at 10 Downing Street, Sunak said he would try to fix the mess left by his predecessor Lizz Truss, restore faith in politics and tackle a “profound economic crisis” but warned the country there would be difficult decisions.

Sunak paid tribute to Truss, whose experimental economic program sent the markets into a meltdown — and ultimately led to her resignation after just 44 tumultuous days in office — and hit out at another predecessor, Boris Johnson, by saying the mandate the Conservatives were handed at the 2019 election won by the former prime minister was not the property of one individual.

“I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Liz Truss … But some mistakes were made. Not born of ill will or bad intentions. Quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes nonetheless,” he said.

“And I have been elected as leader of my party and your prime minister, in part to fix them. And that work begins immediately. I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda. This will mean difficult decisions to come.”

Appealing to a public facing rising energy and food prices, Sunak, one of the wealthiest lawmakers in parliament with a combined family fortune of more than $850 million, said he fully appreciated how hard things were for many.

“All I can say is that I am not daunted. I know the high office I have accepted and I hope to live up to its demands,” he said.

“So I stand here before you ready to lead our country into the future. To put your needs above politics, to reach out and build a government that represents the very best traditions of my party. Together we can achieve incredible things.”

Sunak is expected to immediately begin appointing a Cabinet and getting to work on boosting an economy sliding toward recession.

The third Conservative prime minister this year, he will also try to unite a governing party that is riven with divisions after Truss’ brief, disastrous term.

He vowed to confront the “profound economic crisis” with compassion and lead a government of “integrity, professionalism and accountability.”

Truss drew a line under her short-lived tenure as PM after making a public statement outside the prime minister’s residence. She defended her economic plan before being driven from No. 10 for the last time — seven weeks to the day after she took the top job.

“I am more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the problems we face,” she said. She stood by the free-market principles of “lower taxes” and “delivering growth,” despite the market mayhem triggered by her Sept. 23 budget package.

Truss wished Sunak success as Britain continues “to battle through a storm.”

Sunak’s top priorities will be appointing ministers, and preparing for a budget statement that will set out how the government plans to come up with $40 millions pounds to fill a fiscal hole created by soaring inflation and a sluggish economy, and worsened by Truss’ economic experiments.

The statement, set to feature tax increases and spending cuts, is currently due to be made in Parliament next Monday by Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt, who is expected to remain in office.

Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs analyst — and the son-in-law of billionaire N.R. Narayana Murthy — who has only been in elected politics for seven years, was chosen as Conservative leader after becoming the only candidate to clear the hurdle of 100 nominations from fellow lawmakers to run in the party election.

Sunak defeated rival Penny Mordaunt, who may get a job in his government, and the ousted Johnson, who rushed back from a Caribbean vacation to rally support for a comeback bid but came up short. 

Johnson, who quit in July after becoming mired in ethics scandals, congratulated Sunak on his appointment Tuesday, urging Conservative Party colleagues “to give our new PM their full and wholehearted support.”

With Post wires