Stanley Johnson

Stanley Patrick Johnson (born 18 August 1940 in Cornwall) is a British politician and author, and a noted expert on environmental and population issues. [cite book |title=World population and the United Nations: challenge and response. |last=Johnson |first=Stanley |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1987] He was a Conservative MEP from 1979 to 1984 and is former employee of the World Bank and the European Commission, and his son, Boris Johnson, is the current Mayor of London.

Origins and early life

Johnson was born in 1940, the son of Wilfred Johnson and Irene, daughter of Stanley F. Williams of Bromley, Kent, and Marie Louise (née de Pfeffel). ["Deaths", "The Times", p. 1, December 1, 1944.] His paternal grandfather Ali Kemal Bey, one of the last interior ministers of the Imperial Turkish government, was assassinated during the Turkish War of Independence. Stanley's father was born Osman Wilfred Kemal in England in 1909, his Anglo-Swiss mother Winifred dying shortly after giving birth. After Ali Kemal returned to Turkey in 1912, Stanley's father and aunt were brought up by their English grandmother Margaret Brun (née Johnson) and took her maiden name, Stanley's father becoming simply Wilfred Johnson.

Johnson attended Sherborne School, Dorset, and while still an undergraduate studying Classics at Exeter College, Oxford, he took part in the Marco Polo Expedition with Tim Severin and Michael de Larrabeiti, travelling on a motorcycle from Oxford to Venice and on to India and Afghanistan.

Work and interests

He has previously worked at the World Bank, has a great interest in the environment and was the Head of Prevention of Pollution Division at the European Commission from 1973-1979. He is a trustee of the [http://www.gorillas.org Gorilla Organisation] and a board member of Plantlife International. In 1983 he received the RSPCA Richard Martin Award for Outstanding Services to animal welfare and in 1984 he received the Greenpeace Award for Outstanding Services to the Environment.

He has published a number of books dealing with environmental issues and nine novels, including "The Commissioner", which was made into a film starring John Hurt.

Recent activities

He attempted a political comeback in the United Kingdom general election, 2005, when he stood for the Conservative Party in the constituency of Teignbridge. He came second behind Richard Younger-Ross of the Liberal Democrats. If he had won he would have become the first father to follow his son into Parliament.

For a time, starting on May 26, 2005, he wrote a weekly column for the "G2" section of "The Guardian", and continues to write for various newspapers and magazines, often on environmental topics (see Stanley Johnson personal site below for details). He was one of the first regular hosts of the late night discussion programme "The Last Word" on Channel 4's More4 channel, and made an appearance on "Have I Got News For You" on May 7 2004.

On May 5, 2008, it was reported that Johnson hoped to be selected to contest his son Boris's parliamentary seat of Henley for the Conservative Party. [cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=563847&in_page_id=1770&ct=5|title="Bank holiday Boris promises to work 'night and day' as father eyes his Commons seat"|publisher="Daily Mail"|date=2008-05-05|accessdate=2008-05-05] However, on 29 May, it was reported that the local Conservative party had chosen three local people as possible candidates [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/7425090.stm|title=Johnson's father in election snub|publisher="BBC News"|date=2008-05-29|accessdate=2008-05-31] and on 30 May, local councillor John Howell was selected to fight the by-election. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/7428812.stm|title=Tory candidate chosen for Henley|publisher="BBC News"|date=2008-05-30|accessdate=2008-05-31]

Personal life

Stanley Johnson married the painter Charlotte (née Fawcett, later Wahl) and with her had four children including the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and Rachel Johnson, a journalist. He later married Jennifer Kidd and had two further children.

Works

*"Gold Drain" (1967, Heinemann) ISBN B0000CNKG6
*"Panther Jones for President" (1968, Heinemann) ISBN 0-434-37701-5
*"Life without Birth: A Journey Through the Third World in Search of the Population Explosion" (1970, Heinemann) ISBN 0-434-37702-3
*"The Green Revolution" (1972, Hamilton) ISBN 0-241-02102-2
*"The Population Problem" (1973, David & C) ISBN 0-7153-6282-8
*"The Politics of Environment" (1973, T Stacey) ISBN 0-85468-298-8
*"The Urbane Guerilla" (1975, Macmillan) ISBN 0-333-17679-0
*"Pollution Control Policy of the EEC" (1978, Graham & Trotman) ISBN 0-86010-136-3
*"The Doomsday Deposit" (1979, EP Dutton) ISBN 0-525-09468-7
*"The Marburg Virus" (1982, Heinemann) ISBN 0-434-37704-X
*"Tunnel" (1984, Heinemann) ISBN 0-434-37705-8
*"Antarctica: The Last Great Wilderness" (1985, Weidenfeld & N) ISBN 0-297-78676-8
*"The Commissioner" (1987, Century) ISBN 0-7126-1587-3
*"Dragon River" (1989, Frederick Muller) ISBN 0-09-173526-2
*"World Population - Turning the Tide" (1994, Kluwer Law International) ISBN 1-85966-046-0
*"The Environmental Policy of the European Communities" (1995, Kluwer Law International) ISBN 90-411-0862-9
*"The Politics of Population: Cairo, 1994" (1995, Earthscan) ISBN 1-85383-297-9
*"Icecap" (1999, Cameron May) ISBN 1-874698-67-8

References

External links

* [http://www.stanleyjohnson.com/ Stanley Johnson] personal site
* [http://orgclassic.eea.europa.eu/news/Ann1096279340/cv_StanleyJohnson Biographical Note] , European Environment Agency
* [http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/E/election2005_blogs/johnson_blog.html Channel 4 Election Weblogs - Stanley Johnson]
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/election/comment/0,15803,1492385,00.html "The Guardian ruined my political career!"] Stanley Johnson's column May 26, 2005.
* [http://www.journalisted.com/stanley-johnson Newspaper articles by Stanley Johnson]

Offices held