Conservative British politician Boris Johnson grew to become the second elected mayor of London earlier than overseeing the U.Okay.’s departure from the European Union as prime minister.
Who Is Boris Johnson?
After starting his profession as a journalist, Boris Johnson grew to become a distinguished editor whereas concurrently constructing his political base as a Conservative MP. A shock winner of London’s mayoral race in 2008, the famously raveled politician championed the “Leave” motion of the Brexit referendum in 2016 earlier than spending two years as overseas secretary. Elevated to prime minister in 2019, Johnson engineered the U.Okay.’s break from the European Union however was criticized for breaking Covid-19 lockdown guidelines and resigned his premiership in July 2022.
How Old Is Boris Johnson?
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was born in New York City on June 19, 1964.
Parents and Siblings
Johnson is the oldest of 4 youngsters born to dad Stanley, a politician, environmentalist and creator, and mother Charlotte, a painter.
His sister, Rachel, went on to earn acclaim as a journalist; his center brother, Jo, grew to become a member of Parliament and authorities minister; and his youngest brother, Leo, launched into a profession in finance. Johnson additionally has two half-siblings, Maximilian and Julia, from Stanley’s second marriage.
Early Years and Education
Thanks to his father’s various skilled pursuits, Johnson moved 32 instances by age 14. The household’s travels included stops in London, the place Johnson attended Primrose Hill Primary School, and Brussels, the place he was enrolled on the European School.
Affected by a medical situation often called “glue ear,” which left him partially deaf till round age eight, Johnson was mentioned to be a quiet, studious boy. He started rising from his shell after being despatched away to Ashdown House, a boarding faculty in East Sussex, the place he studied historical Greek and Latin and developed a love for rugby.
At Eton College, Johnson dropped his first title and honed a extra extroverted character. He headed the controversy society, was named captain of faculty and joined the unique “Pop” membership, although he additionally rankled school to the purpose the place one housemaster criticized his “disgracefully cavalier attitude.”
After a spot yr spent educating in Australia, Johnson returned to England to check classics on the University of Oxford’s Balliol College. A standout amongst fellow future stars, he grew to become president of the Oxford Union, co-edited the satirical publication Tributary and joined the Bullingdon Club earlier than incomes an higher second-class diploma in 1987.
Journalist and Politician
Johnson started his journalism profession as a graduate trainee for The Times however was fired the next yr after attributing a fabricated quote to his godfather, famend tutorial Colin Lucas.
Landing on his ft because the Brussels correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, Johnson carved out a repute for his exaggerated however entertaining critiques of the European Commission. He later likened the expertise to “chucking these rocks over the garden wall and [listening] to this amazing crash from the greenhouse next door over in England.”
Johnson served because the Telegraph‘s chief political columnist and an assistant editor from 1994-99 after which as editor of The Spectator, a proper-wing journal, till 2005. During this time, he additionally started writing an everyday automotive column for GQ and noticed his superstar develop through properly-acquired appearances on the favored quiz present “Have I Got News for You.”
Johnson additionally launched his political profession as a Conservative MP from Henley, Oxfordshire, in 2001. Forced from his place as social gathering vice-chair and shadow arts minister after mendacity about an affair in 2004, he rebounded to win reelection the next yr and have become shadow greater schooling minister beneath Conservative chief David Cameron.
Mayor of London
Named the Tory candidate for London mayor in 2007, Johnson earned his first style of worldwide consideration for his raveled look and energetic however bumbling methods. He in the end defeated the Labour incumbent, Ken Livingstone, to change into the town’s second elected mayor in 2008.
Recovering from a chaotic begin by which a number of high aides resigned, Johnson launched the “Boris bikes” cycle-sharing program in 2010 and the brand new-and-improved “Boris bus” fleet in early 2012.
Although he was criticized for his response to the 2011 London riots, he held on to defeat Livingstone and earn a second time period in workplace in 2012.
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Johnson subsequently noticed the completion of the ArcelorMittal Orbit remark tower and Emirates Air Line cable automobiles in time for the 2012 London Olympics, which offered the lasting picture of the mayor caught on a zipper line above Victoria Park. Other formidable tasks, such because the “Boris island” airport and backyard bridge over the River Thames, by no means got here to fruition regardless of his efforts.
Brexit Campaign
Along with taking up one other elected submit as MP of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in 2015, Johnson spent his ultimate weeks as mayor engaged within the contentious situation of Brexit, a referendum on whether or not to proceed the United Kingdom’s membership within the European Union.
Initially not sure which aspect to take, Johnson finally emerged because the face of the “Leave” marketing campaign, in direct opposition to Prime Minister Cameron. His populist message for an unbiased U.Okay. resonated with the general public, ensuing within the citizens’s historic vote to go away the E.U. on June 23, 2016.
Johnson subsequently launched a bid to exchange Cameron because the Conservative chief however bowed out by the top of June, paving the best way for Theresa May to take over as prime minister.
Foreign Secretary
Named May’s secretary of state for overseas and Commonwealth affairs in July 2016, Johnson quickly bumped into bother along with his off-the-cuff commentary. After initially defending the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia, he accused the Middle Eastern nation of “puppeteering and playing proxy wars.” Later, his incorrect evaluation {that a} British-Iranian nationwide was “teaching” when arrested for spying in Iran reportedly bolstered the accusations that she was spreading propaganda.
Johnson dutifully represented the nation’s pursuits in rebuking the alleged Russian use of a lethal nerve agent and supporting the Iran nuclear deal. But he additionally feuded along with his boss over her makes an attempt to barter the U.Okay.’s break from the E.U. Dismayed by the proposed compromises, Johnson stepped down as overseas secretary in July 2018.
U.Okay. Prime Minister
After May resigned in May 2019 over an incapability to forge a Brexit settlement, Johnson once more sought management of the social gathering management. This time, he emerged victorious after promising to drag out of the E.U. by October 31, no matter whether or not or not a deal was in place, and took over as prime minister on July 24, 2019.
Johnson shortly discovered himself at odds with lawmakers after asking Queen Elizabeth II to droop Parliament till mid-October, with critics charging that he was narrowing the chance for opposition to his Brexit plans. Parliament subsequently handed a invoice that required the PM to request an extension for the U.Okay.’s departure by October 19 if he was unable to dealer an settlement with the E.U. or earn the required consent for a no-deal Brexit.
While Johnson was pressured to hunt the extension, he was profitable in bringing his case to the folks with a snap election. Riding the slogan “get Brexit done,” the Conservative Party proved the decisive winner within the December 2019 normal election, giving Johnson time to effective-tune the trivia of a ultimate deal after the nation’s formal exit from the E.U. on January 31, 2020.
Meanwhile, a brand new disaster emerged that yr with the speedy onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Initially reluctant to curb the stream of enterprise and public interplay, Johnson lastly introduced the closure of shops and eating places on March 20 earlier than imposing strict lockdown measures a couple of days later. He then landed in intensive care after contracting the virus on the finish of the month.
Although the U.Okay. grew to become the primary Western nation to greenlight a vaccine in December 2020, it additionally grew to become the primary European nation to surpass 100,000 casualties from the sickness in January 2021. Later that yr, a report slammed the “public health failures” within the nation caused by governmental delays in enacting social distancing tips.
Johnson’s issues compounded by April 2022 when he was fined for breaking lockdown guidelines. The following month, he was named a main offender in a collection of lockdown-defying social gatherings amongst authorities workers, a scandal dubbed “Partygate.”
After he survived a no-confidence vote from social gathering members in June, the revelation that Johnson was conscious of sexual misconduct allegations in opposition to deputy chief whip Chris Pincher triggered a wave of presidency resignations headlined by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid. On July 7, 2022, Johnson bowed to the strain to resign as prime minister.
Although former Foreign Secretary Liz Truss took over as social gathering chief and premier, she, too, resigned lower than two months later after a number of public missteps. Initially serious about reclaiming the job, Johnson withdrew his title from consideration shortly earlier than Sunak was introduced as the brand new PM on October 24, 2022.
Books
Johnson has authored a number of books, relationship again to his tales from the marketing campaign path with Friends, Voters, Countrymen (2001). Other works embrace the novel Seventy-Two Virgins (2003); an examination of antiquity with The Dream of Rome (2006); a e book of poetry and illustrations with The Perils of the Pushy Parents (2007); and the biography The Churchill Factor (2014).
Wives and Children
Johnson has been married 3 times and fathered seven youngsters. After assembly Allegra Mostyn-Owen at Oxford, the 2 have been married in 1987 earlier than having the union annulled in 1993. That yr Johnson wed lawyer Marina Wheeler, with whom he had daughters Lara and Cassia and sons Milo and Theodore.
Following the revelation that he had one other daughter, Stephanie, with journalist Helen MacIntyre, Johnson and Wheeler divorced in 2018. The prime minister then married public relations government Carrie Symonds in 2021 and added to his household with son Wilfred and daughter Romy.
Boris Johnson – Prime Minister, Resignation & Brexit
Boris Johnson – Prime Minister, Resignation & Brexit
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Boris Johnson – Prime Minister, Resignation & Brexit