Boris Johnson Biography

Boris Johnson is a British politician who has served as the Mayor of London since 2008. He previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 2001 until 2008 and is serving as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, the politician is also a popular historian and journalist. Born in New York City to English parents, he returned to the United Kingdom with his family as a child. Both his parents valued high-achievers and the young boy was raised to be competitive from a young age. A good student, he was awarded a King's Scholarship to study at the prestigious Eton College following which he read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford. He embarked on a career as a journalist with ‘The Times’ and found considerable success in this profession, taking the editorship of ‘The Spectator’ from 1999 to 2005. Along with journalism he was also deeply interested in politics and was elected to the House of Commons as MP for Henley in 2001. Soon a popular political figure, he went on to serve on the opposition front bench, first as Shadow Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries and then for Higher Education. He is considered a controversial figure in British politics and journalism due to his enigmatic personality, with his own share of both supporters and detractors.

Childhood & Early Life

• Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was born on 19 June 1964 in New York City to English parents Stanley Johnson and Charlotte Johnson Wahl, as the eldest of their four children. At birth Boris was granted both American and British citizenship. The family moved to the U.K. when he was a young child.
• Boris was sent to a preparatory boarding school, Ashdown House in East Sussex, where he proved to be a good student. He excelled at Ancient Greek and Latin and developed a love of rugby.
• He won a King's Scholarship to study at the prestigious Eton College. He proved to be a popular student. While he fared poorly in mathematics and science, he performed well in English and Classics. He began writing for Eton College's newspaper, ‘The Chronicle’ and soon became its editor.
• He proceeded to study classics at Balliol College, Oxford, on another scholarship. Once again he became a popular figure and was elected Secretary of the Oxford Union in 1984. He specialized in the study of Ancient Literature and Classical Philosophy and graduated with an upper second-class degree.

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Career

• Boris Johnson began his career as a journalist in 1987 when he began working as a graduate trainee at ‘The Times’. His tenure at the newspaper proved to be problematic and he was sacked from his job.
• This early pitfall in his career did not deter him at all and he went on to establish himself as a much loved journalist. Over the next few years he worked with ‘The Daily Telegraph’ as feature writer, EU Correspondent, and Assistant Editor, before becoming the editor of ‘The Spectator’ in 1999. The newspaper thrived under his editorship, adding to his reputation as a highly successful journalist.
• During this period he also began pursuing his political aspirations seriously and became a Member of Parliament for Henley in 2001. He continued his journalistic career alongside his full-time job as an MP, holding on to his post as the editor of ‘The Spectator’. He also wrote columns for ‘The Daily Telegraph’ and ‘GQ’. He proved to be a popular politician even though he also earned a penchant for courting controversies.
• In 2007, Boris Johnson announced his candidacy for the position of Mayor of London in the 2008 mayoral election. The flamboyant politician won the largest personal electoral mandate in the U.K. during the election, defeating incumbent Ken Livingstone to become the mayor. He assumed office as the Mayor of London in May 2008.
• As the mayor, one of his initial policy initiatives was to ban drinking alcohol on public transport. He also gained some notoriety for his idleness and sloppy dressing sense. A cyclist himself, he introduced a public bicycle scheme called "Boris Bikes" which proved to be much popular. He also commissioned the development of the New Routemaster buses for central London.
• During his tenure, Boris became embroiled in several controversies. However, he continued to enjoy popularity in the eyes of his ardent supporters. During the 2012 Mayoral election, he sought re-election, and once again faced Livingstone. Boris Johnson easily won the re-election due to the immense support from his followers.
• During his second term, he became the co-chair of an Olympic board which oversaw the 2012 London Olympic Games. Prior to the games he took action to improve the transport around London by making more tickets available and introduced more buses around the capital during the busy period for thousands of the visiting spectators.
• In 2015, he was elected as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Despite the numerous allegations of extra-marital affairs and controversies that surround him, he continues to remain a popular politician. He is also the author of many books.

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Major Works

• As the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson introduced the scheme of the “Boris Bikes”, a public bicycle hire scheme. Johnson said that he "hoped the bikes would become as common as black cabs and red buses in the capital." The scheme was launched in July 2010, with over 90,000 users registering one million cycle rides in the first ten weeks of operation.
• During his tenure as a mayor, he also introduced the New Routemaster, a hybrid diesel-electric double-decker bus that was similar to the original Routemaster bus design but updated to meet requirements for modern buses to be fully accessible. The first bus in the service was launched in February 2012.

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Awards & Achievements

• In 1997 he was voted “What the Papers Say” Political Commentator of the Year.
• He was named Pagan Federation of Great Britain National Journalist of the Year in 1998.
• He was voted Editors’ Editor of the Year in 2003.

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Personal Life & Legacy

• Boris Johnson married Allegra Mostyn-Owen in 1987. The marriage was dissolved in 1993.
• His tied the knot for the second time with Marina Wheeler, a barrister. This marriage produced two daughters and three sons.

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Net Worth

• Boris Johnson has an estimated net worth of $2 million.

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