Boris Johnson appointed as Britain’s new Foreign Minister

Boris Johnson appointed as Britain’s new Foreign Minister

PanARMENIAN.Net - Boris Johnson, the top Brexit campaigner and former London mayor, made a sensational comeback Wednesday, July 13 after two weeks in the political wilderness to become foreign minister in new Prime Minister Theresa May's government, AFP reports.

Johnson is one of Britain's most recognizable politicians with his blond mop-top hair, bumbling manner and tendency to drift into Latin during speeches.

He is also one of the most controversial after he drove the campaign for Britain to leave the EU and then spectacularly ducked out of entering the race to succeed Remain-campaigning prime minister David Cameron -- a contest Johnson had been expected to win.

Johnson, one of a coterie of Conservative politicians who attended Britain's elite Eton boarding school, was the figurehead of the "Leave" campaign.

The job of foreign secretary is the first in government for Johnson, whose tenure as London mayor from 2008 until May this year included overseeing the 2012 Olympic Games.

The leadership ambitions of the former Brussels-based journalist had been the worst-kept secret in British politics, ever since his victory in London's mayoral race eight years ago sent his profile skyrocketing.

At the time, he was the most senior Conservative in elected office, AFP says.

The decision prompted a furious reaction from former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine who described Johnson, a huge admirer of Winston Churchill, as "a general who marches his army to the sound of the guns and the moment he sees the battleground he abandons it."

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