Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is an American-born British Conservative Party politician, who was first elected Mayor of London in 2008. Initially coming to public attention as a journalist, he was previously editor of The Spectator magazine (1999-2005) and the Member of Parliament for Henley from the 2001 general election to 2008.

Johnson was educated at Primrose Hill Primary School, the European School of Brussels, Ashdown House School, Eton College, and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Classics. He began his career in journalism with The Times and later moved on to The Daily Telegraph, where he became Assistant Editor. During his period in the House of Commons, Johnson became one of the most conspicuous politicians in the country. He has also written several books.

Under Michael Howard, Johnson served on the Conservative front bench as the Shadow Minister for the Arts (April-November 2004). When David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, Johnson was re-appointed to the front bench as Shadow Minister for Higher Education and resigned as Editor of The Spectator.

In September 2007, he was selected as the Conservative candidate for the 2008 London mayoral election. Johnson defeated Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone and was elected Mayor, after which he resigned his seat in parliament. With over a million votes, he received the largest personal mandate of any politician in British history. On 4 May 2012, Johnson was re-elected as Mayor, again defeating Livingstone.