Boris Johnson
Overview
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...

 since 2008. He was the Member of Parliament for Henley
Henley (UK Parliament constituency)
Henley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers south Oxfordshire, including Henley-on-Thames. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has long been a safe Conservative...

 and editor
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...

 of The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...

magazine.

Johnson was educated at the Primrose Hill Primary School, Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...

, European School of Brussels
European School of Brussels I
The European School of Brussels I is located in Uccle, Brussels, Belgium. Founded in 1958, it was the second European School in Europe. ....

, Ashdown House School
Ashdown House, East Sussex
Ashdown House is a mixed independent preparatory school in Forest Row, East Sussex. There are currently 169 pupils from the ages seven to thirteen, currently comprising around 110 boys and 59 girls.-Headmaster:...

, Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and Balliol College
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....

, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

, where he read Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores is the name given to an undergraduate course focused on Classics at Oxford and some other universities.The Latin name means literally "more humane letters", but is perhaps better rendered as "Advanced Studies", since humaniores has the sense of "more refined" or "more learned",...

. He began his career in journalism with The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

, and later moved on to The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

where he became assistant editor.
Quotations

The proposed ban on incitement to “religious hatred” make no sense unless it involves a ban on the Koran itself; and that would be pretty absurd, when you consider that the Bill's intention is to fight Islamophobia.

Daily Telegraph 21 July 2005

Ok, I said to myself as I sighted the bird down the end of the gun. This time, my fine feathered friend, there is no escape.

Friends, Voters, Countrymen p59

Not even Mr Blair has been able to erode the unions conviction that we all have a “right” to a minimum wage… Both the minimum wage and the Social Charter would palpably destroy jobs.

Lend Me Your Ears p387

Labour's appalling agenda, encouraging the teaching of homosexuality in schools, and all the rest of it.

The Spectator 15 April 2000

Not only did I want Bush to win, but we threw the entire weight of The Spectator behind him.

Have I Got Views for You p272

That is the best case for Bush; that, among other things, he liberated Iraq. It is good enough for me.

Daily Telegraph 26 February 2004

Dark forces dragged me away from the keyboard, swirling forces of irresistible intensity and power.

"A wise guy playing the fool to win", Sunday Times, 16 July 2000, p. 17.

 
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