Boris Johnson has been Mayor of London since May 2008, when he received the largest personal mandate in British political history.
Few Londoners have entirely English descent, and Boris is no exception. Born in New York in 1964, he describes himself as a ‘one man melting-pot’, with French, Turkish, Russian and German ancestry.
Boris went to primary school in Camden and was subsequently educated at the European School in Brussels, Ashdown House and then at Eton College in Berkshire, where he went on a scholarship. He later read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford as a Brackenbury scholar. During his time at Oxford University he served as president of the Oxford Union.
Upon graduation he lasted a week as a management consultant before becoming a trainee reporter for The Times. After a short spell 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 magazine began as political columnist in 1994. In 1999 he became editor of the Spectator, a post he held for six years before stepping down in December 2005. He has won several awards for journalism, both as editor and columnist.
Besides his work as a journalist, Boris has published several books, including ‘Friends, Voters and Countrymen’, an autobiographical account of his experience of the 2001 election campaign, a novel, ‘Seventy-Two Virgins’. He has also produced a TV series on Roman History from his book of the same name, ‘The Dream of Rome’. In 2011 he published ‘Johnson’s Life of London’, a celebration of some of the people who gave London its vibrancy and character, from Roman times to the present day.
In 2001 Boris was elected as the Conservative MP for Henley on Thames, replacing Michael Heseltine. He held shadow government posts as Vice Chairman, Shadow Minister for the Arts and Shadow Minister of Higher Education.
In July 2007, Boris announced he would seek the nomination for Conservative candidate for Mayor of London. He was duly selected as the candidate in an all London open primary that autumn, before being elected Mayor in May 2008, defeating Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone. Boris resigned as MP for Henley shortly after the 2008 election. He was re-elected for a second four year term as Mayor in May 2012.
Under his tenure crime in London has fallen 11%, the capital has seen record investment in transport and the city staged what are widely acknowledged to be the most successful Olympic and Paralympic Games ever.
In his first term he introduced a hugely popular cycle hire scheme and a new replacement for the ‘Routemaster’, the cleanest and greenest diesel hybrid in the world. He also oversaw the building of a record number of new affordable homes.
- Boris has made jobs and growth his key focus during his second term, prioritising house building, investment in road and rail infrastructure, and support for financial services and the tech sector, as well as championing low and stable tax rates and the construction of a new multi runway hub airport to the east of London.
- As well as being a passionate cyclist, Boris enjoys painting, and playing tennis. He and his wife Marina have four children and live in north London.
