
Johnson's parents had married in 1963 before moving to the US. 9.1 Allegations of racism and IslamophobiaĪlexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was born on 19 June 1964 on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, to 23-year-old Stanley Johnson, then studying economics at Columbia University, and 22-year-old Charlotte Fawcett, an artist from a family of liberal intellectuals.5.2.8 2021 Downing Street refurbishment controversy.5.2.6 Departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain.
4.3.2 2019 Conservative Party leadership election. 3.2.2 Relations with police, finance, and the media. 2.3 The Spectator and MP for Henley: 1999–2008. 2.1 The Times and The Daily Telegraph: 1987–1994. Commentators have described his political style as opportunistic, populist or pragmatic. Conversely, his critics have accused him of elitism, cronyism, and bigotry. Supporters have praised him as humorous and entertaining, with an appeal stretching beyond traditional Conservative voters. Johnson is considered a controversial figure in British politics. Johnson initially reacted slowly to the outbreak and resisted introducing lockdown measures, although the vaccination programme was the world's first. The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the UK his government responded with various emergency powers and introduced measures across society to mitigate its impact. On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom withdrew from the EU, entering into a transition period and trade negotiations leading to the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. After agreeing to a revised Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU, which replaced the Irish backstop with a new Northern Ireland Protocol, but failing to win parliamentary support for the agreement, Johnson called a snap election for December 2019 in which he led the Conservative Party to victory with 43.6% of the vote, and the party's largest seat share since 1987. He re-opened Brexit negotiations and in early September controversially prorogued Parliament the Supreme Court ruled the action unlawful later that month. Theresa May appointed him foreign secretary after the referendum he resigned the position two years later in protest at May's approach to Brexit and the Chequers Agreement.Īfter May resigned in 2019, Johnson was elected Conservative leader and appointed prime minister. He became a prominent figure in the successful Vote Leave campaign for Brexit in the 2016 EU membership referendum. The following year, he did not seek re-election as mayor. In the 2015 election, Johnson was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. In 2008, he was elected Mayor of London and resigned from the House of Commons he was re-elected as mayor in 2012. After being elected to Parliament in 2001, Johnson was a shadow minister under Conservative leaders Michael Howard and David Cameron. He was editor of The Spectator magazine from 1999 to 2005. 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-wing of politics.
He was elected President of the Oxford Union in 1986. Johnson was educated at Eton College and studied Classics at Balliol College, Oxford. He has been described as adhering to the ideology of one-nation conservatism. 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 was Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson ( / ˈ f ɛ f əl/ born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2019.