Boris Johnson

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson 19 June 1964 New York City, US

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Incumbent

"BoJo" redirects here. For other uses of the term, see Bojo (disambiguation). Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The Right Honourable Boris Johnson MPOfficial portrait, 2019Prime Minister of the United KingdomIncumbentAssumed office 24 July 2019MonarchElizabeth IIFirst Secretary Dominic RaabPreceded by Theresa MayLeader of the Conservative PartyIncumbentAssumed office 23 July 2019Preceded by Theresa MaySecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsIn office 13 July 2016 – 9 July 2018Prime Minister Theresa MayPreceded by Philip HammondSucceeded by Jeremy HuntMayor of LondonIn office 3 May 2008 – 9 May 2016Preceded by Ken LivingstoneSucceeded by Sadiq KhanMember of Parliament for Uxbridge and South RuislipIncumbentAssumed office 7 May 2015Preceded by John RandallMajority7,210 (15.0%)Member of Parliament for HenleyIn office 7 June 2001 – 4 June 2008Preceded by Michael HeseltineSucceeded by John Howell Personal detailsBornAlexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (1964-06-19 ) 19 June 1964 (age 57) New York City, USCitizenshipUnited KingdomUnited States (1964–2016)Political partyConservativeSpouse(s) Allegra Mostyn-Owen ​ ​(m. 1987⁠–⁠1993)​ Marina Wheeler ​ ​(m. 1993; div. 2020)​ Carrie Symonds ​(m. 2021 )​ ChildrenAt least 6ParentsStanley JohnsonCharlotte FawcettRelativesRachel Johnson (sister)Jo Johnson (brother)Julia Johnson (half-sister)James Fawcett (grandfather)Edmund Fawcett (uncle)Ali Kemal (great grandfather)Elias Avery Lowe (great grandfather)Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter (great grandmother)Residence10 Downing StreetEducationEton CollegeAlma materBalliol College, OxfordSignatureWebsiteBoris Johnson website 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 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. 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-wing of politics. 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. 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. After May resigned in 2019, he was elected Conservative leader and appointed prime minister. Johnson re-opened Brexit negotiations and in early September controversially prorogued Parliament; the Supreme Court ruled the action unlawful later that month. After agreeing 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 a landslide win with 43.6% of the vote, and the party's largest seat share since 1987. 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. Johnson has led the United Kingdom's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson is considered a controversial figure in British politics. Supporters have praised him as humorous and entertaining, with an appeal stretching beyond traditional Conservative voters. Conversely, his critics have accused him of elitism, cronyism, and bigotry. Commentators have described his political style as opportunistic or pragmatic.