More than half a dozen Tory MPs have put themselves forward to lead the Conservative party, and to become the next prime minister.
Here's some basic information about their backgrounds, including what their jobs were before politics, where they went to school, and who their parents are.
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak's father Yahvir was a GP and his mother Usha was a pharmacist. He attended Stroud School, a private prep school in Hampshire, and then Winchester College, another prestigious private boarding school.
He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University and then moved to the US to get a masters degree in business administration from Stanford University.
His first jobs were at investment bank Goldman Sachs and then at various investment funds. He was also a director of an investment firm owned by his father-in-law, billionaire Indian business N. R. Narayana Murthy.
Penny Mordaunt
Penny Mordaunt's father John was a paratrooper who later retrained as a teacher. Her mother was related to the politician Philip Snowden, who became the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1924.
She attended Oaklands Roman Catholic Comprehensive School in Waterlooville, Hampshire and then went on to study drama at the Victoryland Theatre School. She studied Philosophy at the University of Reading.
After university she went onto to work for the Conservative party as Head of Youth and then Head of Broadcasting. She also worked for the Freight Transport Association, Kensington and Chelsea Council, and both of George W. Bush's presidential campaigns.
Liz Truss
Liz Truss's father was a professor of pure mathematics at the University of Leeds, while her mother was a nurse and teacher at various points. She says politically they were both left-wingers.
Truss went to Roundhay School, a comprehensive school in north-east Leeds, and was also briefly educated in Canada when her family moved there. She attended Oxford University where she studied politics, philosophy and economics.
After Oxford she went to work for oil company Shell as a commercial manager and then telecoms company Cable & Wireless as economics director. She went to work for a think-tank before becoming an MP.
Tom Tugendhat
Tom Tugendhat is the son of Sir Michael Tugendhat, a High Court judge. His mother, Blandine de Loisne, was born in France. He is also the nephew of Lord Tugendhat, a former Tory MP for Westminster and EU commission Vice President who now sits in the House of Lords.
Tugendhat was educated at the private St Paul's School in London before studying theology at the University of Bristol. This was followed by a masters in Islamic studies at Cambridge.
He joined the territorial army as an officer after university, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also worked as an intelligence officer and as foreign office civilian staff.
Nadhim Zahawi
Nadhim Zahawi's father Hareth was a businessman in Iraq, and his family moved to the UK as refugees when Nadhim was 11 years old.
Zahawi was educated at Holland Park School, a top state school in west London, before moving to two private schools - Ibstock Place School and King's College School.
He studied chemical engineering at University College London, before embarking on a marketing career. In 2000 he founded up pollster YouGov where he was chief executive until becoming a Tory MP in 2010.
Mr Zahawi was knocked out of the race on Wednesday.
Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Hunt's father Sir Nicholas Hunt was an admiral in the Royal Navy and commander in chief of the fleet from 1985 to 1987. His mother worked as a nurse in the 1950s and 60s.
Hunt went to the private Charterhouse school in Surrey, where he was head of school, before studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Oxford. He was a contemporary of David Cameron and Boris Johnson and was active in Conservative politics there.
After university Hunt worked as a management consultant, taught English in Japan, and set up various businesses. The most successful was a company called Hotcourses, a database of educational courses.
Mr Zahawi was knocked out of the race on Wednesday.
Kemi Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch's father was a GP and her mother was a professor of physiology. Born in Wimbledon, she also spent time in Nigeria and the United States.
She studied for her A-Levels at Phoenix College in Morden, before doing a degree in Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Sussex. She later did a law degree at Birkbeck, University of London.
Before politics she worked as a systems analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, and did various jobs in consultancy and financial services including associate director of private bank and wealth manager Coutts and as digital director of The Spectator magazine.
Suella Braverman
Suella Braverman's mother was a Tory councillor in Brent and a nurse; her father worked for a housing association.
She went to the private Heathfield School in Pinner before going to Cambridge university to study law. She also did a masters degree in European and French law at Panthéon-Sorbonne University.
Before entering politics Braverman worked as a lawyer specialising in commercial litigation, judicial review, immigration and planning law.
