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Liz Truss has been chosen to become the next prime minister of the UK.

She was voted for by members of the Conservative Party to replace Boris Johnson who stepped down as leader in July.

Over 140,000 party members voted for either between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, with Truss winning by more than 20,000 votes.

She is the third woman to become UK prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and Theresa May in 2016, all three being Conservatives.

"Friends and colleagues, thank you for putting your faith in me to lead our great Conservative party, the greatest political party on Earth," Ms Truss said following her win.

"As your party leader, I intend to deliver what we promised those voters right across our great country."

Who is Liz Truss?

Liz Truss was born in Oxford in 1975 to her mum, a nurse, and father who was a maths teacher.

At just seven years old, she played the UK's first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, at her school's mock general election.

But she didn't have much luck and remembers: "I jumped at the chance and gave a heartfelt speech at the hustings, but ended up with zero votes. I didn't even vote for myself."

As a child her family moved to Glasgow in Scotland and then to Leeds. She went to university in Oxford where she studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

After studying she became an accountant, but then moved into politics becoming Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk in 2010.

She is married to Hugh O'Leary, an accountant, and has two teenage daughters.

Liz Truss in politics

Liz Truss has been a Conservative member of parliament - or MP - since 2010.

But Ms Truss started her political career as a Liberal Democrat, a different party, switching to join the Conservatives during her time at university.

She once believed the UK should no longer have a Royal Family - but now she is very supportive of the monarchy.

She also campaigned for the UK to stay part of the European Union but switched to supporting Brexit when a majority of people voted to leave the EU in 2020.

Ms Truss went on to argue that Brexit provided an opportunity to "shake up the way things work".

Her supporters say it is a good thing that someone can change their mind, but her critics say it shows that she hasn't got any strong beliefs.

Truss as UK Foreign Secretary

Foreign Secretary is one of the most important jobs in government - it is the person in charge of the UK's relationship with other countries.

During her time in the job, Ms Truss aimed to change the Northern Ireland Protocol, which affects how goods pass between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK following the UK's exit - or Brexit - from the European Union.

She wanted to make it easier for goods to pass between the UK and Northern Ireland, by scrapping parts of a deal that the UK government made with the EU in 2019.

She was strongly criticised by the EU for this, saying that it was wrong for the UK government to change its mind so soon after reaching an agreement. Many people in Northern Ireland also want the protocol to stay.

But others, particularly in the Conservative Party, supported Liz Truss' position. They argue that the protocol doesn't work and needs to be changed.

As Foreign Secretary, Ms Truss helped to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori - two British-Iranian nationals arrested and held in Iran.

When Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, Truss reacted strongly, saying all of Vladimir Putin's armed forces should be forced out of Ukraine.

But she then faced criticism going against government policy - by saying that she supported people from the UK who wanted to fight in the war for Ukraine.

What issues will Truss have to tackle as prime minister?

Liz Truss will take on a big challenge in her new role as leader.

The UK is facing rising inflation and is experiencing a cost of living crisis.

Prices are increasing rapidly for everyday things like food and fuel, and lots of people in the UK are struggling to pay their household bills.

Ms Truss says that as prime minister she will help people by cutting taxes - this is the money that adults have to pay the government - to pay for things like schools, roads and the NHS.

"I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy. I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people's energy bills, but also dealing with the long term issues we have on energy supply. And I will deliver on the National Health Service," she said after being appointed as the next prime minister.

Her supporters say a cut in taxes will help people who are struggling, by leaving them more money to spend on bills, food and fuel as prices rise. But others think this won't do enough to tackle the cost of living and could even make it worse.

If Liz Truss does succeed in dealing with the cost of living and energy crisis, then that will go a long way to her being a successful prime minister. If she doesn't, then it may make it difficult for her to stay in the job.