After proposing a tax cut for Britain’s wealthiest, Truss drove the country’s currency to a record low compared to the dollar. Truss abandoned her initial tax proposal, but that wasn’t enough to help her stay in power. Elizabeth Truss resigned after 45 days as prime minister.

Truss became prime minister on Sept. 6 after being elected by members of the Conservative Party to replace Boris Johnson as their leader. She was never going to have it easy. As Truss entered office, the nation was staring down a dire economic picture, highlighted by energy bills that were expected to spike in October and again in January. It threatened to send millions of Britons, already reeling from inflation and other challenges, spiraling into destitution, unable to heat or power their homes. Her first two weeks included the death of Queen Elizabeth II and were politically muted while the country entered a period of mourning.

On Sept. 23, her finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, made a fatal misstep promising to slash taxes for the highest earners and biggest corporations — what he called a “mini-budget”. The proposed cuts of £45 billion would have been the biggest in 50 years. Truss and Kwarteng said they were vital to shake the United Kingdom out of years of sluggish economic performance, But the cuts sent the pound plunging to historic lows against the US dollar.

The rapid political collapse of Liz Truss ended when she announced her resignation, a little more than six weeks after she became Prime Minister. Her agenda had fumbled, her own party had turned on her and the media prompted a contest, “Can Liz Truss outlast a lettuce?” She couldn’t.