Who is Boris Johnson: Boris Johnson won the race to be Britain’s next prime minister on Tuesday. Johnson beat foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt in Conservative Party election race and is now set to replace Theresa May as the UK prime minister. The 55-year-old played a decisive role in the 2016 Brexit referendum and is quite popular among the activists. In the 90s, Johnson worked as a reporter in Brussels, and he admits that the stories he wrote then ‘stretched credibility’. The top leadership across European countries despise Johnson as his stories played a part in shaping the British cynicism towards the European Union (EU).
Johnson was known for his appearances on comedy shows before he became the mayor of London. He also served as the foreign secretary and quit the Cabinet after May presented her compromised Brexit plan. He has been rallying for May’s resignation ever since.
The former Mayor of London had reached out to the Indian diaspora in UK, describing himself as the ‘son-in-law of India’. His now estranged wife Marina Wheeler’s mother was an Indian. Johnson also claims to share a strong rapport with prime minister Narendra Modi. He wrote a letter earlier this month promising to deliver a truly special relationship between India and the UK.
Johnson wrote that, during his meeting with PM Modi, he had stressed upon how India and UK were modern democracies and should work together to promote trade and prosperity. Johnson told Modi that the two nations should work closely to tackle the challenges that their countries face.
Boris is also known for his ambition – as a child, he wanted to be ‘World King’. The Brexit hardliner was being touted as the frontrunner to be the PM ever since a group of Tory leaders withdrew their nominations from the leadership race within the Conservative party. On Tuesday, Johnson won comprehensively getting 92,153 votes. Jeremy Hunt won just 46,656 votes.
The first order of business for Johnson would be to negotiate a Brexit deal with the EU. After being chosen to lead the country, Johnson said that his leadership campaign was aimed at delivering Brexit and uniting the country.
“We are going to get Brexit done on October 31 and we are going to take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring,” Johnson said in a speech.
