The uncombed, rumple-suited former magazine editor boasts none of the professional sheen of New York's Michael Bloomberg but will lead a booming city that rivals Manhattan as the world's leading economic center and will be host of the 2012 Olympic Games.
His victory over incumbent Mayor Ken Livingstone, a left-winger and member of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's governing Labour Party, will be seen as a boon for opposition Conservative chief David Cameron. Johnson's victory gives the Conservatives their first major political office since their crushing 1997 national election defeat.
But some Cameron supporters warn that Johnson could prove to be a Trojan horse, if his unguarded remarks and buffoonish image undermine the opposition's claim that it is now ready to lead Britain.
Johnson cuts a curious figure, either waddling through posh London streets or clumsily pedaling his bicycle to Parliament.
Silhouettes of his iconic poses -- scratching his unruly thatch of blond hair, ambling along a road with hands stuffed in wrinkled pockets, gesticulating wildly to make a debating point -- were used on campaign billboards. Video Watch a report on the mayoral race »
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is best known for appearances on the satirical news panel show "Have I Got News for You" but has also won notoriety for offending minority communities.
He caused deep offense after labeling members of the Commonwealth "piccaninnies," a derogatory term for black people; referred to Africans as having "watermelon smiles"; and likened his party's internal conflicts "to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing."
London's new mayor is eccentric, offensive
The uncombed, rumple-suited former magazine editor boasts none of the professional sheen of New York's Michael Bloomberg but will lead a booming city that rivals Manhattan as the world's leading economic center and will be host of the 2012 Olympic Games.
His victory over incumbent Mayor Ken Livingstone, a left-winger and member of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's governing Labour Party, will be seen as a boon for opposition Conservative chief David Cameron. Johnson's victory gives the Conservatives their first major political office since their crushing 1997 national election defeat.
But some Cameron supporters warn that Johnson could prove to be a Trojan horse, if his unguarded remarks and buffoonish image undermine the opposition's claim that it is now ready to lead Britain.
Johnson cuts a curious figure, either waddling through posh London streets or clumsily pedaling his bicycle to Parliament.
Silhouettes of his iconic poses -- scratching his unruly thatch of blond hair, ambling along a road with hands stuffed in wrinkled pockets, gesticulating wildly to make a debating point -- were used on campaign billboards. Video Watch a report on the mayoral race »
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is best known for appearances on the satirical news panel show "Have I Got News for You" but has also won notoriety for offending minority communities.
He caused deep offense after labeling members of the Commonwealth "piccaninnies," a derogatory term for black people; referred to Africans as having "watermelon smiles"; and likened his party's internal conflicts "to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing."
