Boris Johnson

The Right Honourable Boris Johnson Hon FRIBA
Official portrait, 2019
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 24 July 2019 – 6 September 2022
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Deputy	Dominic Raab[a]
Preceded by	Theresa May
Succeeded by	Liz Truss
Leader of the Conservative Party
In office 23 July 2019 – 5 September 2022
Preceded by	Theresa May
Succeeded by	Liz Truss
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 13 July 2016 – 9 July 2018
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Philip Hammond
Succeeded by	Jeremy Hunt
Mayor of London
In office 3 May 2008 – 9 May 2016
Deputy	Richard Barnes Victoria Borwick Roger Evans
Preceded by	Ken Livingstone
Succeeded by	Sadiq Khan
Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip
In office 7 May 2015 – 12 June 2023
Preceded by	John Randall
Succeeded by	Steve Tuckwell
Member of Parliament for Henley
In office 7 June 2001 – 4 June 2008
Preceded by	Michael Heseltine
Succeeded by	John Howell
Shadow Cabinet portfolios
2004	Arts
2005–2007	Higher Education
Personal details
Born	Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (1964-06-19) 19 June 1964 (age 60) New York City, US
Citizenship	United Kingdom United States (until 2016)
Political party	Conservative
Spouses	Allegra Mostyn-Owen ​ ​ (1987⁠–⁠1993)​ Marina Wheeler ​ ​ (m. 1993; div. 2020)​ Carrie Symonds ​ (m. 2021)​
Parents	Stanley Johnson Charlotte Fawcett
Relatives	Johnson family
Residence	Brightwell Manor
Education	Eton College University of Oxford
Occupation	Politician author journalist
Signature
Boris Johnson's voice Johnson's address to the nation on its departure from the European Union Recorded 31 January 2020

This article is part of a series about Boris Johnson
Political positions Electoral history Public image MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP for Henley Electoral history {{{2}}} 2008 mayoral election 2012 mayoral election 2016 EU referendum causes aftermath 2019 leadership election polling endorsements 2019 general election 2021 local elections 2022 local elections Mayor of London Mayoralty 2008 mayoral election London Britannia Airport Santander Cycles New Routemaster 2011 riots London Cable Car 2012 Summer Olympics 2012 Summer Paralympics Garden Bridge Brexit Vote Leave 2016 explored candidacy Foreign Secretary Tenure as Foreign Secretary Yemen intervention Zaghari-Ratcliffe case 2018 Salisbury attack Chequers plan Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Premiership International trips Minister for the Union First ministry and term (July – December 2019) First ministry (minority) Suspension of rebel MPs Benn Act 2019 prorogation Supreme Court case Brexit deal renegotiation revised deal Get Brexit Done Second ministry and term (December 2019 – September 2022) Second ministry (majority) departures 2020 reshuffle 2021 reshuffle EU Withdrawal Agreement Northern Ireland Protocol EU trade negotiation cooperation agreement COVID-19 pandemic government response lockdown vaccinations contracts contract controversies Dominic Cummings scandal Partygate Evacuations from Afghanistan Levelling up COP26 Refurb controversy Owen Paterson scandal Rwanda asylum plan Murder of David Amess Proposed NI increase British support for Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Cost of living crisis Conservative Party confidence vote Chris Pincher scandal Government crisis July 2022 reshuffle leadership election House of Commons confidence vote Resignation Honours Post-premiership 2022 explored candidacy endorsements Privileges Committee investigation 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election Bibliography Friends, Voters, Countrymen Seventy-Two Virgins The Dream of Rome The Churchill Factor Unleashed
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Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He was previously Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 2001 to 2008 and for Uxbridge and South Ruislip from 2015 to 2023.

In his youth Johnson attended Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, and he was elected president of the Oxford Union in 1986. In 1989 he began writing for The Daily Telegraph, and from 1999 to 2005 he was the editor of The Spectator. He became a member of the Shadow Cabinet of Michael Howard in 2001 before being dismissed over a claim that he had lied about an extramarital affair. After Howard resigned Johnson became a member of David Cameron's Shadow Cabinet. He was elected mayor of London in 2008 and resigned from the House of Commons to focus his attention on the mayoralty. He was re-elected mayor in 2012, but did not run for re-election in 2016. At the 2015 general election he was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Johnson was a prominent figure in the Brexit campaign in the 2016 European Union membership referendum. After the referendum Prime Minister Theresa May appointed him foreign secretary. He resigned from the position in 2018 in protest at both the Chequers Agreement and May's approach to Brexit.

Johnson succeeded May as prime minister. He re-opened Brexit negotiations with the European Union and in early September he prorogued Parliament; the Supreme Court later ruled the prorogation to have been unlawful. After agreeing to a revised Brexit withdrawal agreement but failing to win parliamentary support, Johnson called a snap general election to be held in December 2019, in which he won a landslide victory. During Johnson's premiership, the government responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by introducing various emergency powers to mitigate its impact and approved a nationwide vaccination programme. He also responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia and authorising foreign aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine.^[1] In the Partygate scandal it was found that numerous parties had been held at 10 Downing Street during national COVID-19 lockdowns, and COVID-19 social distancing laws were breached by 83 individuals, including Johnson, who in April 2022 was issued with a fixed penalty notice. The publishing of the Sue Gray report in May 2022 and a widespread sense of dissatisfaction led in June 2022 to a vote of confidence in his leadership amongst Conservative MPs, which he won. In July 2022, revelations over his appointment of Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip of the party while knowing of allegations of sexual misconduct against him led to a mass resignation of members of his government and to Johnson announcing his resignation as prime minister. He was succeeded as prime minister by Liz Truss, his foreign secretary. He remained in the House of Commons as a backbencher until 9 June 2023, when he received the draft of the Commons Privileges Committee investigation into his conduct that unanimously found that he had lied to the Commons on numerous occasions. Johnson resigned his position as MP the same day.

Johnson is a controversial figure in British politics. His supporters have praised him for being humorous, witty and entertaining, with an appeal reaching beyond traditional Conservative Party voters, viewing him as an electoral asset to the party. Conversely, his critics have accused him of lying, elitism, cronyism and bigotry. During his premiership his supporters praised him for "getting Brexit done", overseeing the UK's COVID-19 vaccination programme, which was amongst the fastest in the world, and being one of the first world leaders to offer humanitarian support to Ukraine following the Russian invasion of the country. His tenure also encompassed several controversies and scandals, and is viewed as the most scandalous premiership of modern times by historians and biographers alike.

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