Jo Johnson
Encyclopedia
Joseph Edmund "Jo" Johnson (born 23 December 1971) is a Conservative Party
politician. He has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Orpington
since the general election in May 2010 .
MEP
Stanley Johnson and artist Charlotte Johnson Wahl (née Fawcett), the daughter of Sir James Fawcett, a prominent barrister and president of the European Commission of Human Rights
. He is the younger brother of Boris
, the Mayor of London
; Rachel
, a writer and journalist; and Leo, an entrepreneur and film-maker.
He began his schooling in Brussels
, at the European School
in Uccle
, before attending The Hall School
in Hampstead, London, Ashdown House School
in East Sussex, and then Eton College
. In 1991, he went up to Balliol College, Oxford
to read Modern History. He was a Scholar at Balliol, edited Isis
, the Oxford University student magazine, and was awarded a First Class degree
in both Honour Moderations (June 1992) and Finals (Honour School, June 1994).
A fluent French speaker, he did postgraduate study on the continent and has degrees from two further leading European universities, gaining an MBA
from INSEAD
in 2000 and a licence spéciale with distinction in 1995 from the Institut d’Etudes Européennes at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
, where he was a Wiener-Anspach Fellow.
in 1997, after working as an investment banker at Deutsche Bank
and had two foreign postings, as Paris correspondent between 2001–2005, and then as South Asia Bureau Chief based in New Delhi from 2005 until 2008. Johnson then became an Associate Editor of the Financial Times and Head of the Lex Column, one of the most influential positions in British financial journalism. Previous 'Heads of Lex' include Nigel Lawson
, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Martin Taylor
, former chief executive of Barclays Bank, and Richard Lambert
, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry. Johnson left the Lex column in April 2010.
In April 2009, Johnson was named Foreign Journalist of the Year (Print) in India's leading media awards, the Indian Express Excellence in Journalism Awards. His books include the co-authored The Man Who Tried To Buy the World (Penguin, 2003) which was published in France as Une faillite française by Albin Michel in 2002.
A regular commentator on radio and television, he frequently speaks in public on the rise of India and the new world order, as well as on the UK political economy and financial affairs.
He has received awards from a range of organisations, including most recently Amnesty International
, the Foreign Press Association, the Society of Publishers in Asia and The Indian Express
’s 2009 Excellence in Journalism Awards.
Most recently he has co-edited, with Dr Rajiv Kumar (Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) Reconnecting Britain and India: Ideas for an Enhanced Partnership (Academic Foundation 2011).
parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Orpington
from a shortlist of six contenders. He won the seat, tripling the Conservative majority to over 17,000.
Jo serves as an elected member of the Public Accounts Committee, a select committee of the House of Commons
. It is responsible for overseeing government expenditures to ensure they are effective and represent value for money.
with his wife, Amelia Gentleman, a journalist for The Guardian
and the daughter of artist and designer David Gentleman
. They have two children.
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. He has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Orpington
Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)
Orpington is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
since the general election in May 2010 .
Family, early life and schooling
Johnson is the youngest of four children born to former ConservativeConservative 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...
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
Stanley Johnson and artist Charlotte Johnson Wahl (née Fawcett), the daughter of Sir James Fawcett, a prominent barrister and president of the European Commission of Human Rights
European Commission of Human Rights
European Commission of Human Rights was a special tribunal.From 1954 to the entry into force of Protocol 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, individuals did not have direct access to the European Court of Human Rights; they had to apply to the Commission, which if it found the case to be...
. He is the younger brother of Boris
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
, the 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...
; Rachel
Rachel Johnson
Rachel Johnson is an English editor, journalist and author based in London.Johnson is the daughter of former Conservative MEP Stanley Johnson and artist Charlotte Johnson Wahl , the daughter of Sir James Fawcett, a prominent barrister and president of the European Commission of Human Rights...
, a writer and journalist; and Leo, an entrepreneur and film-maker.
He began his schooling in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, at the European School
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. ....
in Uccle
Uccle
Uccle or Ukkel is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.Uccle is known for its well-to-do areas, its green spots and its high rental rates.-History:...
, before attending The Hall School
Hall School (Hampstead)
The Hall School is an independent boys' preparatory school in Belsize Park, Hampstead, London, currently teaching boys from the age of four to thirteen.-Description:The school is known for high academic standards...
in Hampstead, London, 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:...
in East Sussex, and then 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"....
. In 1991, he went up to Balliol College, Oxford
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....
to read Modern History. He was a Scholar at Balliol, edited Isis
Isis magazine
The Isis Magazine was established at Oxford University in 1892 . Traditionally a rival to the student newspaper Cherwell, it was finally acquired by the latter's publishing house, OSPL, in the late 1990s...
, the Oxford University student magazine, and was awarded a First Class degree
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
in both Honour Moderations (June 1992) and Finals (Honour School, June 1994).
A fluent French speaker, he did postgraduate study on the continent and has degrees from two further leading European universities, gaining an MBA
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
from INSEAD
INSEAD
INSEAD is an international graduate business school and research institution. It has campuses in Europe , Asia , and the Middle East , as well as a research center in Israel...
in 2000 and a licence spéciale with distinction in 1995 from the Institut d’Etudes Européennes at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
Université Libre de Bruxelles
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...
, where he was a Wiener-Anspach Fellow.
Journalistic career
Johnson joined the Financial TimesFinancial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
in 1997, after working as an investment banker at Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
and had two foreign postings, as Paris correspondent between 2001–2005, and then as South Asia Bureau Chief based in New Delhi from 2005 until 2008. Johnson then became an Associate Editor of the Financial Times and Head of the Lex Column, one of the most influential positions in British financial journalism. Previous 'Heads of Lex' include Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, PC , is a British Conservative politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974–92, and served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of Margaret Thatcher from June 1983 to October 1989...
, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Martin Taylor
Martin Taylor (businessman)
Martin Taylor is a businessman and former chief executive of Barclays Bank. He is currently Chairman of Syngenta AG.-Career:He joined Reuters as a journalist in 1974, before moving to the Financial Times in 1978, where he edited the paper's Lex column.In 1984, he joined the board of Courtaulds,...
, former chief executive of Barclays Bank, and Richard Lambert
Richard Lambert
Sir Richard Peter Lambert is the former Director-General of the CBI, and the present Chancellor of the University of Warwick.-Education:...
, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry. Johnson left the Lex column in April 2010.
In April 2009, Johnson was named Foreign Journalist of the Year (Print) in India's leading media awards, the Indian Express Excellence in Journalism Awards. His books include the co-authored The Man Who Tried To Buy the World (Penguin, 2003) which was published in France as Une faillite française by Albin Michel in 2002.
A regular commentator on radio and television, he frequently speaks in public on the rise of India and the new world order, as well as on the UK political economy and financial affairs.
He has received awards from a range of organisations, including most recently Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, the Foreign Press Association, the Society of Publishers in Asia and The Indian Express
The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
’s 2009 Excellence in Journalism Awards.
Most recently he has co-edited, with Dr Rajiv Kumar (Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) Reconnecting Britain and India: Ideas for an Enhanced Partnership (Academic Foundation 2011).
Political career
On 12 December 2009, Johnson was selected as the ConservativeConservative 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...
parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Orpington
Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)
Orpington is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
from a shortlist of six contenders. He won the seat, tripling the Conservative majority to over 17,000.
Jo serves as an elected member of the Public Accounts Committee, a select committee of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. It is responsible for overseeing government expenditures to ensure they are effective and represent value for money.
Personal life
Jo Johnson lives in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with his wife, Amelia Gentleman, a journalist for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and the daughter of artist and designer David Gentleman
David Gentleman
David Gentleman is an English artist-designer. He studied illustration at the Royal College of Art under Edward Bawden and John Nash. He has worked in various media - watercolour, lithography, wood engraving - and at scales ranging from the platform-length murals for Charing Cross underground...
. They have two children.
External links
- Jo Johnson MP official constituency website
- Jo Johnson MP Conservative Party profile
- Profile and column archives at the Financial TimesFinancial TimesThe Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
- Jo Johnson chairing fund-raising discussion at Christie's