John·son, Bor·is /'dʒɒns ə n, ˈbɒrɪs $ ˈdʒɑːns ə n, ˈbɔː-/ BrE AmE
(1964-) a British politician and ↑ journalist who was educated at Eton and Oxford University, and who was elected Conservative MP for Henley in 2001. He was Shadow Minister for the Arts and Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party, but was ↑ dismiss ed from these jobs in November 2004 by Michael Howard, the party leader, for lying about a love affair with the journalist Petronella Wyatt. He was the editor of The Spectator magazine from 1999 to 2005. David Cameron, the new party leader, made him the Shadow Minister for Higher Education in December 2005. He gave up this job when he was chosen as the Conservative Party ↑ candidate in the 2008 election for London ↑ mayor which he won. Johnson is known for his blond hair, love of cycling, and for making ↑ gaffe s (=embarrassing mistakes in public) . In 2004, for example, he had to say sorry to the people of Liverpool for comments which he had made about them. He is also well-known for his appearances on the humorous television programme Have I Got news for You .