London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 29, 2026

Boris Johnson Fast Facts

Boris Johnson Fast Facts

Fast Facts on Boris Johnson to learn more about the prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Personal


Birth date: June 19, 1964

Birth place: New York, New York

Birth name: Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson

Father: Stanley Johnson, environmentalist, writer, former politician

Mother: Charlotte Johnson Wahl, painter

Marriages: Marina Wheeler (1993-present, separated); Allegra Mostyn-Owen (1987-1993, divorced)

Children: with Marina Wheeler: Lara, Milo, Cassia and Theodore; with Helen Macintyre: Stephanie; with Carrie Symonds: Wilfred

Education: Balliol College, University of Oxford, B.A., 1987

Other Facts


Johnson is engaged to Carrie Symonds, a former communications official for the Conservative Party.

Brother Jo Johnson is also a Conservative politician.

Johnson was the fourth prime minister to study at Balliol College. The other three were H.H. Asquith, Edward Heath, and Harold Macmillan.

Johnson has written books on politics, history and British culture, such as "The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History" and "The Dream of Rome."

Timeline


1973 - The Johnson family moves to Belgium.

1987 - Becomes a trainee reporter for The Times.

1988 - Fired from The Times for making up a quote.

1989 - Appointed Brussels correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.

1999-2005 - Editor for the weekly magazine The Spectator.

2001 - Johnson is elected a member of the House of Commons in Parliament, winning the seat in Henley for the Conservative Party.

2003-2004 - Vice chairman of the Conservative Party.

2004 - Serves as shadow minister for the arts. Fired over allegations of an affair with journalist Petronella Wyatt.

December 2005-July 2007 - Serves as the shadow minister for higher education.

May 2008 - Johnson is elected mayor of London. He is reelected in 2012.

August 2012 - Johnson gets stuck on a zip line during a Summer Olympics event in London's Victoria Park.

May 2015 - Reelected to Parliament, representing a seat for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

July 13, 2016 - Johnson is appointed foreign secretary by Prime Minister Theresa May, and serves for two years.

February 21, 2016 - Johnson announces he supports the Brexit campaign.

July 9, 2018 - Johnson resigns as foreign secretary due to his disagreement with May's approach to Brexit.

September 2018 - Johnson and Marina Wheeler announce their separation and pending divorce.

July 23, 2019 - Boris Johnson is elected leader of the United Kingdom's Conservative party, and will take over for May as prime minister, pending approval of the Queen.

August 28, 2019 - Queen Elizabeth approves Johnson's request to suspend UK parliament from mid-September, shortening the time available to lawmakers to block a no-deal Brexit. The news is met with opposition from politicians who denounce it as potentially unconstitutional and undemocratic. In a televised interview, Johnson denies that he was seeking to prevent Parliament from limiting his Brexit plans.

September 4, 2019 - Johnson suffers a defeat after lawmakers in the House of Commons approve a bill to block a no-deal Brexit., 327 votes to 299. It instructs Johnson to request another Brexit extension if he cannot secure a deal with the European Union by the October 31 deadline. Hours after, the House of Commons dismiss demands for an election, falling short of the required 434 supermajority to pass.

September 5, 2019 - During a speech in Wakefield, in northern England, Johnson says he'd rather be "dead in the ditch" than ask Europe to delay Brexit. The same day Johnson's brother, Jo Johnson, announces he will step down as MP because he is "torn between family loyalty and the national interest."

September 25, 2019 - Lawmakers return to work after the UK Supreme Court rules Johnson's decision to unilaterally suspend Parliament until mid-October -- just two weeks before the UK is due to leave the European Union -- was "unlawful, void and of no effect," a huge defeat for the prime minister.

October 17, 2019 - Johnson announces that UK negotiators have struck a Brexit deal with their European counterparts, setting the stage for a vote on the proposal in Parliament.

October 19, 2019 - UK lawmakers withhold approval of Johnson's Brexit deal, voting for an amendment to delay ratification. The amendment required Johnson to send a letter requesting an extension from the European Union and Downing Street later confirms the letter was sent.

December 12, 2019 - Johnson's conservative party wins in a landslide election, securing 365 of the 650 seats in the House of Parliament, well ahead of Labour's 203 seats. The election gives Johnson a comfortable majority in the House of Commons and paves the way for Brexit to take place at the end of January.

January 31, 2020 - Britain formally leaves the European Union, entering a transition period until the end of 2020 during which the United Kingdom must negotiate its future relationship with Europe.

February 29, 2020 - Johnson and Symonds announce they are expecting a baby and are engaged to be married.

March 27, 2020 - Johnson announces that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

April 5, 2020 - Johnson is admitted to St Thomas' Hospital in London for tests as part of a "precautionary step" due to Johnson's lingering coronavirus symptoms, the Prime Minister's Office says in a statement.

April 6, 2020 - Johnson is moved to an intensive care unit after his condition with coronavirus symptoms "worsened," according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

April 12, 2020 - A Downing Street spokesman announces Johnson has been discharged from the hospital.

April 29, 2020 - Johnson and Symonds announce the birth of a baby boy.

May 2, 2020 - Johnson and Symonds announce the name of their newborn son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson. He was given the middle name Nicholas in honor of two doctors who treated Johnson while he suffered from coronavirus.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Police Intensify Investigation Into Organised Crime-Linked Violence in Middlesbrough
UK Small Businesses Face Continued Revenue and Tax Pressures, Federation Says
M&G Real Estate Buys West Sussex Affordable Housing Portfolio for £29 Million
Royal Navy Warship HMS Tamar Visits Cambodia for Regional Security Engagement
UK Government Brings Forward Benefit Payments Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Four Men Plead Guilty to Arson Attack on Jewish Community Ambulances in North London
Ofgem Raises Great Britain’s Household Energy Price Cap by Four Percent From October
UK Government Rejects Green Party Call for Artificial Intelligence Datacentre Moratorium
Millions of UK Benefit Recipients Receive Payments Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
UK Prime Minister Meets Northern Ireland Leaders in Belfast Over Budget Crisis
Crypto Tax Gains Reach One Point Three Eight Billion Pounds Among UK Investors, HMRC Data Shows
UK Corporate Confidence Rises to Highest Level Since March, Lloyds Survey Shows
Mike Ashley Attacks UK Government Business Rates and Cost-of-Living Policies
Scottish Universities Face Two Hundred Million Pound Annual Funding Gap, Report Warns
Entertainment Figures Urge UK Government to Protect People From AI Voice Cloning
Manchester Airports Group Confirms Customer Data Breached in Cyberattack
Seven Charged Over Vandalism at Donald Trump’s Turnberry Golf Resort in Scotland
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
×