Boris Johnson, in full Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, was born on June 19, 1964, in New York City, New York, U.S.).
He is an American-born British journalist and Conservative Party politician.
He became prime minister of the United Kingdom in July 2019. Earlier, he served as the second elected mayor of London (2008–16).
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
And as secretary of state for foreign affairs (2016–18) under Prime Minister Theresa May.
Education
Boris attended boarding school in England. He won a scholarship to Eton College and later studied classics at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was president of the Oxford Union.
After briefly working as a management consultant, Johnson embarked on a career in journalism.
Journalism career
He started as a reporter for The Times in 1987 but was fired for fabricating a quotation. He then began working for The Daily Telegraph, serving as a correspondent.
At the Times, he covered the European Community (1989–94) and later as an assistant editor (1994–99).
In 1994 Johnson became a political columnist for The Spectator, and in 1999 he was named the magazine’s editor, continuing in that role until 2005.
Political career
In 1997, Boris Johnson was selected as the Conservative candidate for Clwyd South in the House of Commons, but he lost decisively to the Labour Party incumbent Martyn Jones.
Johnson again stood for Parliament in 2001, this time winning the contest in the Henley-on-Thames constituency.
In 2004 he was dismissed from his position as shadow arts minister after rumors surfaced of an affair between Boris and a journalist.
Re-Election to Parliament
Despite such public rebukes, Johnson was re-elected to his parliamentary seat in 2005. Johnson entered the London mayoral election in July 2007, challenging Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone.
On May 1, 2008, Johnson won a narrow victory, seen by many as a repudiation of the national Labour government led by Gordon Brown.
Early the following month, Johnson fulfilled a campaign promise by stepping down as MP. In 2012 Johnson was reelected mayor, besting Livingstone again.
An Author
His output as an author included Lend Me Your Ears (2003), a collection of essays; Seventy-two Virgins (2004), a novel; and The Dream of Rome (2006), a historical survey of the Roman Empire.
In 2014 he added The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History, which was described by one reviewer as a “breathless romp through the life and times” of Winston Churchill.
Return to Parliament, the Brexit referendum, and failed pursuit of the Conservative leadership
Johnson returned to Parliament in 2015.
Conservative Party in the 1990s
Winning the west London seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in an election that saw the Conservative Party capture its first clear majority since the 1990s.
He retained his post as mayor of London, and the victory fueled speculation that he would eventually challenge Prime Minister David Cameron for leadership of the Conservative Party.
In 2016—Johnson became the leading spokesman for the “Leave” campaign in the run-up to the June 23, 2016, national referendum on whether the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union.
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Theresa May
When Theresa May became Conservative Party leader and prime minister, she named Johnson her foreign secretary.
Johnson maintained his seat in the House of Commons in the snap election called by May for June 2017.
And he remained foreign secretary when May reshuffled her cabinet after the Conservatives lost their legislative majority.
Minority Government
In that election and formed a minority government. In April 2018, Johnson defended May’s decision to join the United States and France in the strategic air strikes.
In May 2018, Johnson was the target of a prank—also thought to have been perpetrated by Russia.
When a recording was made of a telephone conversation between him and a pair of individuals. One of whom fooled Johnson by pretending to be the new prime minister of Armenia.
House of Commons
After failing twice to win support for her plan in votes in the House of Commons, May, in a closed-door meeting.
Rank-and-file members of the Conservative Party, on March 27, 2019, pledged to step down as prime minister if Parliament approved her plan.
This time around, the promise of May’s imminent departure won Johnson’s support for her plan; however, once again, it went down to defeat.
Premiership
On July 24, Johnson officially became prime minister. In late January 2022, an investigation into the affair by senior civil servant Sue Gray was reported to Parliament.
Though in a truncated and redacted form so as not to compromise the investigation into a number of gatherings.
That had been subsequently undertaken by the London Metropolitan Police. Gray indicated that “there were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No. 10.
Apology to Parliament
And the Cabinet Office at different times” and that “some of the events should not have been allowed to take place” whereas “other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.”
Johnson apologized again to Parliament and was roundly castigated, even by Conservatives.
Nevertheless, Johnson’s grip on power remained precarious, especially after the police investigation led to Johnson’s being served a “fixed penalty notice”.
Covid19
In April and being fined for his transgressions of pandemic-related rules . This made him the first incumbent British prime minister in living memory found to have broken the law.
With the number of written requests required to force a vote on the leadership of the party having been met.
359 Conservative members of Parliament on the evening of June 6 participated in a secret ballot vote of confidence in Johnson.
Vote of no confidence
To survive as a leader, Johnson needed to get 180 affirmative votes. He got 211, but the 148 MPs who voted against him constituted roughly 40 percent of the party’s representation.
The House of Commons exceeded in number the 133 MPs. Who had voted against Theresa May in the 2018 vote of confidence in her leadership. That preceded her resignation by some six months.
