Boris Johnson Short biography
Boris Johnson is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016 and Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018.
Born in New York City to British parents, Johnson holds dual British and American citizenship. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford, where he studied Classics. After graduating, he worked as a journalist for The Times and The Daily Telegraph.
In 1997, Johnson was elected to the House of Commons as the MP for Henley. He served in the Shadow Cabinet under Michael Howard and David Cameron. In 2008, he was elected Mayor of London, and was re-elected in 2012.
As Mayor of London, Johnson oversaw the 2012 Summer Olympics and introduced a number of policies, including the introduction of the New Routemaster buses and the expansion of the London Underground. He also supported the construction of a new airport in the Thames Estuary.
In 2016, Johnson was appointed Foreign Secretary by Theresa May. He resigned from this position in 2018 in protest at May's Brexit deal.
In 2019, Johnson was elected Leader of the Conservative Party and became Prime Minister. He negotiated a new Brexit deal with the European Union and led the UK out of the EU on 31 January 2020.
Johnson's premiership was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He imposed a series of lockdowns and restrictions to try to control the virus, but these were met with mixed success. The UK's death toll from COVID-19 was one of the highest in Europe.
In 2022, Johnson became the first British Prime Minister to be found to have broken the law while in office. He was fined by the police for attending a party during the COVID-19 lockdown. This led to calls for him to resign, but he initially refused. However, he eventually resigned in July 2022 after a series of scandals and resignations from his government.
