Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (/ˈfɛfəl/;[6] born 19 June 1964), also known mononymously in the United Kingdom as Boris, is a British politician and writer serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since July 2019. He was Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. Johnson has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015 and was previously MP for Henley from 2001 to 2008. He has been described as adhering to the ideology of one-nation and national conservatism.[7]
Johnson was educated at Eton College and studied Classics at Balliol College, Oxford. He was elected President of the Oxford Union in 1986. In 1989, he became the Brussels correspondent, and later political columnist, for The Daily Telegraph, where his articles exerted a strong Eurosceptic influence on the British right. He was editor of The Spectator magazine from 1999 to 2005. After being elected to Parliament in 2001, Johnson was a shadow minister under Conservative leaders Michael Howard and David Cameron. In 2008, he was elected Mayor of London and resigned from the House of Commons; he was re-elected as mayor in 2012. During his mayoralty, Johnson oversaw the 2012 Summer Olympics and the cycle hire scheme, both initiated by his predecessor, along with introducing the New Routemaster buses, the Night Tube, and the Thames cable car and promoting the Garden Bridge. He also banned alcohol consumption on much of London's public transport.
In the 2015 election, Johnson was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. The following year, he did not seek re-election as mayor; he became a prominent figure in the successful Vote Leave campaign for Brexit in the 2016 EU membership referendum. He was appointed foreign secretary by Theresa May after the referendum; he resigned the position two years later in protest at May's approach to Brexit and the Chequers Agreement. After May resigned in 2019, he was elected Conservative leader and appointed prime minister. His September 2019 prorogation of Parliament was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court.[b] In the 2019 election, Johnson led the Conservative Party to its biggest parliamentary victory since 1987, winning 43.6% of the vote – the largest share of any party since 1979. The United Kingdom withdrew from the EU under the terms of a revised Brexit withdrawal agreement, entering into a transition period and trade negotiations leading to the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Johnson has led the United Kingdom's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
Johnson is considered a controversial figure in UK politics.[9][10] Supporters have praised him as humorous and entertaining,[11] with an appeal stretching beyond traditional Conservative voters.[12][13] Conversely, his critics have accused him of elitism, cronyism, and bigotry.[14][15][16] His actions that are viewed by some as pragmatic[17] tend to be viewed by opponents as opportunistic.[18] |
