Johnson, Boris (1964-…), a British politician, journalist, and author, served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022. Johnson is a member of the Conservative Party. He became known as a leading supporter of Brexit, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU). The European Union is an economic and political partnership among European countries. In 2022, Johnson resigned as prime minister following a series of scandals that occurred during his leadership.
Early life and family.
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was born on June 19, 1964, in New York City. At the time of Johnson’s birth, his father was working in New York City at the United Nations. When Johnson was 5 years old, he and his family moved to Exmoor, England, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of London. Johnson graduated from Balliol College, University of Oxford, in 1986.
Johnson married Allegra Mostyn-Owen, who became a writer and art teacher, in 1987. The marriage ended in divorce in 1993. Johnson soon married Marina Wheeler, a lawyer and author. The couple had four children: Lara (1993-…), Milo (1995-…), Cassia (1997-…), and Theodore (1999-…). Johnson also had a daughter, Stephanie (2009-…), from a relationship with art consultant Helen Macintyre. Johnson and Wheeler divorced in 2020. In April of that year, Johnson and fiancée Carrie Symonds, a political consultant and activist, announced the birth of a son, Wilfred (2020-…). Johnson and Symonds married in 2021. The couple also have two other children, Romy (2021-…) and Frank (2023-…).
Journalist.
Before entering politics, Johnson had a successful career as a journalist. He began as a trainee reporter at the London-based newspaper The Times in 1987. However, he was fired for making up a quote. In 1988, he became a reporter for the Wolverhampton Express & Star. Later that year, he began as a lead writer at The Daily Telegraph. In 1989, Johnson became the European Community correspondent for the Telegraph. The European Community (EC) is the organization that in 1993 became the European Union. Johnson’s experiences at the community’s seat in Brussels, Belgium, greatly influenced his political views. Johnson became critical of the EC and later the EU, and his reports served to promote anti-EU attitudes in Britain. Johnson became a political columnist for The Spectator in 1994, serving as that magazine’s editor from 1999 to 2005.
Political career.
In 2001, Johnson ran for a seat in Parliament, the central lawmaking body in the United Kingdom, representing Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. His campaign centered on fixing housing problems and the difficulties of pig swill (hog feed) manufacturers in Oxfordshire. While a member of Parliament, Johnson held several important roles. He was vice chairman of the Conservative Party from 2003 to 2004, shadow minister of the arts in 2004, and shadow minister for higher education from 2005 to 2007.
In 2008, Johnson was elected mayor of London, defeating liberal incumbent (office holder) Ken Livingstone. Johnson promised to stop the spread of skyscrapers in London and move away from the liberal policies of previous mayors. Johnson served two terms as mayor. During this time, he oversaw the successful Olympic Games of 2012, boosting his political popularity.
In 2015, Johnson was again elected to Parliament, representing a constituency (voting district) on the western edge of Greater London. Johnson became an avid supporter of Brexit. In June 2016, British voters narrowly approved Brexit in a controversial referendum (public vote). In July, Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Johnson as foreign secretary. He resigned from the position in 2018, after May failed to successfully negotiate a split with the European Union. May resigned as head of the Conservative Party in June 2019. She remained as prime minister until July, when Johnson was elected the new head of the Conservative Party and succeeded her as prime minister. Johnson hoped to complete Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union by October 31. He was unable to finalize an agreement, however, and Johnson and EU leaders agreed to extend the Brexit deadline to early 2020. 
In December 2019 national elections, the Conservative Party won many more seats than its rival, the Labour Party. The vote gave Johnson a broad mandate to pursue a Brexit agreement on his party’s terms. On Jan. 31, 2020, the United Kingdom officially ceased to be a member of the European Union. Final agreements on new trade and travel rules were determined by U.K. and EU leaders during a transition period ending on Dec. 31, 2020.
The spread of COVID-19 became a major focus of Johnson’s government beginning in 2020. Johnson himself was hospitalized with the contagious respiratory disease in the spring, before recovering. Under Johnson’s leadership, the government raised or lowered U.K. business and social restrictions based on the severity of COVID-19 infection rates. The United Kingdom won praise for its robust vaccine distribution efforts.
In 2022, Johnson became the subject of national scrutiny after investigations suggested he had misled Parliament regarding the nature of a series of gatherings held in 2020 and 2021 at his residence and other locations. The gatherings violated COVID-19 social restrictions put in place by Johnson’s government, and the resulting scandal became known as “Partygate.” In June 2022, Johnson survived a no-confidence vote held by Conservative members of Parliament. More than 40 percent of his party, however, voted against him. Many of Johnson’s Cabinet members resigned in July after the revelation of another scandal involving a senior Conservative Party member. On July 7, Johnson stepped down as party leader and said he would resign as prime minister after a successor was chosen. Liz Truss, who had served as foreign secretary in Johnson’s government, succeeded him as party leader and prime minister in September. Johnson resigned his seat in Parliament in June 2023.
Johnson has written several books, ranging from biography to fiction to political analysis. His Friends, Voters, Countrymen (2001) provides an analysis of the United Kingdom’s political practices. Other books include Lend Me Your Ears (2003)—a collection of essays reprinted from various magazines and newspapers—and a biography of Winston Churchill, The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History (2015).
