Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary

Boris Johnson's tenure as Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson in his 2016 official portrait
Boris Johnson's tenure as Foreign Secretary
13 July 2016 – 9 July 2018
PartyConservative
Nominated byTheresa May
Appointed byElizabeth II

Boris Johnson served as foreign secretary from 2016 until 2018. As a member of Theresa May's government, Johnson was appointed Foreign Secretary on 13 July 2016, shortly after May became prime minister following the resignation of David Cameron. Analysts saw the appointment as a tactic to weaken Johnson politically: the new positions of "Brexit secretary" and international trade secretary left the foreign secretary as a figurehead with few powers.[1][2]

Johnson's appointment ensured he would often be out of the country and unable to organise and mobilise backbenchers against her, while forcing him to take responsibility for problems caused by withdrawing from the EU.[3][4] He held the post until he resigned on 9 July 2018 in protest at the Chequers Plan and May's approach to Brexit, and was succeeded by Jeremy Hunt. Notable events of his tenure included the response to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, the imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and support for the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen.

  1. ^ Hutton, Robert. "Boris Johnson Appointed U.K. Foreign Secretary in May Government". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  2. ^ Bush, Stephen (14 July 2016). "Sending Boris Johnson to the Foreign Office is bad for Britain, good for Theresa May". New Statesman. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  3. ^ Hüetlin, Thomas (14 July 2016). "Boris Johnson als Außenminister: Der Prügelknabe" [Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary: The whipping boy]. Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  4. ^ Cassidy, John (13 July 2016). "The Huge Challenge Facing Theresa May". The New Yorker. Retrieved 14 July 2016.