The former Mayor of London had reached out to the Indian diaspora in UK, describing himself as the ‘son-in-law of India’.
LONDON: Johnson is set to become prime minister on Wednesday after winning an election to lead the governing Conservatives. After British Prime Minister Teresa May’s resignation, Boris was a prominent choice to lead the country. The 55-year-old Tory MP won with a huge margin after securing 92,153 votes compared to his rival candidate Jeremy Hunt, who got 46,656 votes.Boris described himself as the “son-in-law” of India and elaborated on his special connect with the country.He will become prime minister once Queen Elizabeth II formally asks him to form a government, replacing Theresa May.Johnson wooed Conservatives by promising to succeed where May had failed and lead the U.K. out of the EU —with or without a divorce deal.Johnson won the leadership contest by persuading Conservative members, who are strongly pro-Brexit, that Britain will leave the bloc “do or die.”President Donald Trump was quick to congratulate Johnson in a tweet, saying: “He will be great!”Outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May — who Johnson has long been a critic of — tweeted her congratulations to the new party leader, promising him her “full support.”Likewise, Johnson said in his acceptance speech that it had been a “privilege” to serve in May’s cabinet.Johnson’s hardline stance led to Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan resigning on Monday — and it is expected to trigger several more resignations in the coming days.On Wednesday, outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May will host her last question-and-answer session in the House of Commons and then travel to Buckingham Palace to formally resign. Boris Johnson, is a British politician who is Prime Minister-designate of the UK and has been Leader of the Conservative Party since 23 July 2019.He has been the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislipsince 2015, and was the MP for Henley from 2001 to 2008. He was Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, and from 2016 to 2018 he served as Foreign Secretary. Johnson identifies as a one-nation conservative and has been associated with both economically and socially liberal policies.Born in New York City to wealthy upper-middle class British parents, Johnson was educated at the European School, Brussels I, Ashdown House, and Eton College. Johnson began his career in journalism at The Times, but was sacked for falsifying a quotation.He was eventually made assistant editor of the Telegraph in 1994. In 1999, he left the Telegraph to become editor of The Spectator, a role he would hold until 2005.Johnson is a fluent speaker of French and Italian, and has a good grasp of German, Spanish, and Latin,frequently using classical references in his newspaper columns and speeches.In 1987, he married Allegra Mostyn-Owen, daughter of the art historian William Mostyn-Owen and Italian writer Gaia Servadio.The marriage was dissolved in 1993. A couple of weeks later he married Marina Wheeler, a barrister and daughter of journalist and broadcaster Charles Wheeler and his wife, Dip Singh.The Wheeler and Johnson families have known each other for decades, and Marina Wheeler was at the European School, Brussels I at the same time as her future husband. They have four children: two daughters and two sons.
