British Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted a video message of thanks on Sunday after being released from the hospital, where he was treated for Covid-19.
Johnson, 55, spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care, recovering from Coronavirus. Johnson said it “could have gone either way” as he thanked healthcare workers for saving his life.
Johnson especially thanked two nurses – Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal – for standing by his bedside with oxygen for 48 hours at the most critical time.
“It is thanks to that courage, that devotion, that duty and that love that our NHS has been unbeatable,” he said.
Johnson will continue his recovery at Chequers, the PM’s official country residence, a spokesman said.
About Boris Johnson (from Wikipedia)
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer, and former journalist, who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2019. He was Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. Johnson was Member of Parliament for Henley from 2001 to 2008 and has been MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015. Ideologically, he identifies as a one-nation conservative.
Johnson was born in New York City to upper-middle-class English parents and educated at Eton College. He read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was elected President of the Oxford Union in 1986. He began his career in journalism at The Times newspaper, from which he was dismissed for falsifying a quotation. Later he became the Brussels correspondent for The Daily Telegraph newspaper, where his articles exerted a strong influence on growing Eurosceptic sentiment on the British right. He was promoted to be an assistant editor from 1994 to 1999, and edited The Spectator magazine from 1999 to 2005. After being elected MP for Henley in 2001, Johnson served as a junior Shadow Minister under Conservative leaders Michael Howard and David Cameron. He largely adhered to the Conservatives’ party line but adopted a socially liberal stance on issues such as LGBT rights in parliamentary votes. In 2008 he was elected Mayor of London, resigning a month later from the House of Commons; he was re-elected as Mayor in 2012. During his mayoralty, Johnson oversaw the 2012 Summer Olympics, introduced the New Routemaster buses, a cycle hire scheme and a cable car crossing the Thames, and banned alcohol consumption on much of London’s public transport.
In 2015, Johnson was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip; he stepped down as mayor the following year, during which he became a prominent figure in the successful Vote Leave campaign for Brexit. He then served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs during the earlier stages of Theresa May’s premiership; he resigned from the post two years later, in criticism of May’s approach to Brexit and the Chequers Agreement. After May resigned in 2019, he was elected Conservative leader and appointed prime minister. His September 2019 prorogation of Parliament was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court.[8] In the 2019 general election, Johnson led the Conservative Party to its biggest victory since 1987, with the biggest percentage vote share of any party since 1979. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union under the terms of a revised Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Johnson is a controversial figure in British politics and journalism. Supporters have praised him as an entertaining, humorous, and popular figure, with an appeal stretching beyond traditional Conservative voters and Eurosceptics. Conversely, his critics have accused him of dishonesty, elitism, and cronyism, and of using offensive language. Johnson is the subject of several biographies and fictionalised portrayals.
Personal life
Having been born in New York City to British parents, Johnson at first held United Kingdom–United States dual citizenship. In February 2015, he announced his intention to renounce his US citizenship to demonstrate his loyalty to the UK, which he did in 2016. Johnson has a knowledge of French, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin, and Ancient Greek, frequently employing and alluding to classical references in both his newspaper columns and his speeches. His favourite movie is The Godfather, due to “the multiple retribution killings at the end”.
Johnson was baptised a Catholic and later confirmed into the Church of England, but has stated that “his faith comes and goes” and that he is not a serious practising Christian.
In 1987, he married Allegra Mostyn-Owen, daughter of the art historian William Mostyn-Owen and Italian writer Gaia Servadio. The couple’s marriage was annulled in 1993 and twelve days later Johnson married Marina Wheeler, a barrister, daughter of journalist and broadcaster Charles Wheeler and his wife, Dip Singh. Five weeks later, Wheeler and Johnson’s first child was born. The Wheeler and Johnson families have known each other for decades, and Marina Wheeler was at the European School, Brussels, at the same time as her future husband. They have four children: two daughters and two sons.
In September 2018, Johnson and Wheeler issued a statement confirming that after 25 years of marriage they had separated “several months ago”, and had begun divorce proceedings. They reached a financial settlement in February 2020.
In 2019, Johnson was living with Carrie Symonds, the daughter of Matthew Symonds, son of John Beavan, Baron Ardwick and a co-founder of The Independent newspaper, and Josephine McAfee, a lawyer. Symonds had worked for the Conservative party since 2009 and worked on Johnson’s 2012 campaign to be re-elected as Mayor. On 29 February 2020, Johnson and Symonds announced their engagement and that Symonds was expecting a baby in early summer.
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