Stanley Johnson (writer)

For other people named Stanley Johnson, see Stanley Johnson (disambiguation).
Stanley Johnson
Born Stanley Patrick Johnson
(1940-08-18) 18 August 1940
Penzance, Cornwall
Nationality British
Occupation Politician and author
Stanley Johnson's voice
from the BBC programme Profile, 4 August 2012[1]

Stanley Patrick Johnson of West Nethercote, Winsford, Somerset (born 18 August 1940) is a British politician and author, and an expert on environmental and population issues. He was a Conservative MEP for Wight & Hampshire East from 1979 to 1984 and is former employee of the World Bank and the European Commission.

Origins and early life

Johnson was born in 1940 in Penzance, Cornwall, the son of Osman Kemal Wilfred Johnson and Irene Williams, daughter of Stanley F. Williams of Bromley, Kent, by his marriage to Marie Louise de Pfeffel (or Freiin von Pfeffel) in Paris on 15 August 1882.[2] His paternal grandfather Ali Kemal Bey, one of the last interior ministers of the Ottoman Empire government, was assassinated during the Turkish War of Independence. Stanley's father was born Osman Wilfred Kemal or Osman Ali in England in Bournemouth, Hampshire, 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. His maternal grandparents were Hubert Freiherr von Pfeffel, born in Munich on 8 December 1843, and wife Helene von Rivière, born on 14 January 1862; he was the son of Karl Freiherr von Pfeffel (Dresden, 22 November 1811 - Munich, 25 January 1890) and wife (m. Augsburg, 16 February 1836) Karolina von Rothenburg (Frankfurt, 28 November 1805 - Frankfurt, 13 February 1872), herself the natural daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg by Friederike Porth.

Johnson attended Sherborne School, Dorset, and while still an undergraduate reading Greats at Exeter College, Oxford, he took part in the Marco Polo Expedition with Tim Severin and Michael de Larrabeiti, travelling on a motorcycle and sidecar from Oxford to Venice and on to India and Afghanistan. The adventure led to the publication of Severin's 1964 book Tracking Marco Polo with photographs by de Larrabeiti.

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 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 is an ambassador for the UNEP Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals based in Bonn, Germany.

He has published a number of books dealing with environmental issues and nine novels, including The Commissioner, which was made into a 1998 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.

For a time, starting on 26 May 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 7 May 2004.

On 5 May 2008, it was reported that Johnson hoped to be selected to contest his son Boris's parliamentary seat of Henley for the Conservative Party.[3] However, on 29 May, it was reported that the local Conservative party had chosen three local people as possible candidates[4] and on 30 May, local councillor John Howell was selected to fight the by-election.[5]

He has written an autobiographical memoir, Stanley I Presume, which was published in March 2009.[6]

Personal life

Stanley Johnson married the painter Charlotte (née Fawcett, later Wahl) in Marylebone, London, in 1963, and with her had four children: Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London; Rachel Johnson, a journalist and former editor in chief of The Lady; Jo Johnson, Conservative MP for Orpington and Head of Lex at the Financial Times; and Leo Johnson, a film-maker and entrepreneur. He was divorced in the 1980s and later married Jennifer Kidd and had two further children, Julia and Maximilian.

Works

References

  1. ↑ "Stanley Johnson". Profile. 4 August 2012. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  2. ↑ "Deaths", The Times, p. 1, 1 December 1944.
  3. ↑ "Bank holiday Boris promises to work 'night and day' as father eyes his Commons seat". Daily Mail. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  4. ↑ "Johnson's father in election snub". BBC News. 2008-05-29. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  5. ↑ "Tory candidate chosen for Henley". BBC News. 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  6. ↑ "Stanley Johnson's website - Books page".

External links

European Parliament
New constituency Member of European Parliament for Wight and Hampshire East
1979 – 1984 		Succeeded by
Richard Simmonds
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