Boris Johnson

Biography:

Boris Johnson was born in June 1964 in New York. His family moved to London when he was five years old.

Few Londoners have entirely English descent, and Boris is no exception. He describes himself as a ‘one man melting-pot’, with French, Turks and Germans among his ancestors.

Boris went to primary school in Camden and was subsequently educated at the European School in Brussels, Ashdown House and then at Eton College. He later read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford as a Brackenbury scholar. During his time at Oxford University he became president of the prestigious Oxford Union. After graduating he moved back to London.

Much though he envies and admires the City, he lasted a week as a management consultant before becoming a trainee reporter for The Times. His career in journalism has seen him undertake various jobs. After a short time as a writer for the Wolverhampton Express and Star, he joined The Daily Telegraph in 1987 as leader and feature writer. From 1989 to 1994 he was the Telegraph's European Community correspondent and from 1994 to 1999 he served as assistant editor. His association with The Spectator began as political columnist in 1994. In 1999 he became editor of the paper and stayed in this role until December 2005.

Besides his work as a journalist, he has published several books, including ‘Lend Me Your Ears, Friends, Voters and Countrymen’, an autobiographical account of his experience of the 2001 election campaign, and a novel, ‘Seventy-Two Virgins’.

He regularly appears on TV and has been a contestant on Have I Got News For You. He has also produced a series on Roman History from his book of the same name, The Dream of Rome.

In 2001 he was elected MP for Henley on Thames, replacing Michael Heseltine. He has held shadow government posts as Vice Chairman, Shadow Minister for the Arts and Shadow Minister of Higher Education. In July 2007, Boris Johnson resigned from his position as shadow education secretary so that he would be free to stand as Conservative candidate for Mayor of London. He resigned as MP for Henley shortly after becoming Mayor of London in 2008.

His passion for cycling led to the collaboration with Barclays Bank to create a public bicycle sharing scheme, more popularly known as the Boris Bikes. In 2013, Johnson took part in the annual Ride London event; a 100 mile ride from the Olympic Park, going through Surrey Hills, and finishing at the Mall in the centre of London.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Johnson was present at the closing ceremony as the representative of London, and received the Olympic Flag off Mayor of Beijing, Guo Jinlong. Johnson’s role in the 2012 Olympics involved being co-chair on a board to oversee the Games. In this position, Johnson improved the transport available around London, providing easier access to the games, making more tickets available during the busiest periods of the Games, and allowing shops and supermarkets to have longer hours on a Sunday.