Former London mayor Boris Johnson was appointed as British Foreign Secretary in a surprise appointment by the country’s new Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday.
Johnson was a leading figure in the victorious ‘Leave’ campaign in Britain’s European Union membership referendum last month and had been considered the front-runner to become Prime Minister himself before being sidelined by moves against him within the ruling Conservative Party.
Johnson’s role in Britain’s negotiations over its future relationship with the EU is likely to be limited because May is expected to create a new ministerial post focused exclusively on Brexit issues.
Nevertheless, as Foreign Secretary, Johnson, who has never previously held a cabinet post, will have to address questions about the country’s role in the world after its exit from the EU and he will inherit Britain’s often difficult relationship with Russia.
His predecessor in the job was Philip Hammond, who was named Chancellor on Wednesday.
Amber Rudd, the former Energy Secretary, was appointed as Interior Minister, a role which will make her a key player in the country’s approach to immigration under May.
Rudd, who succeeds May in charge of the Home Office, became a lawmaker in 2010 and served as parliamentary private secretary to former Chancellor George Osborne from 2012 to 2013 before joining the department for energy and climate change where she was promoted to minister in 2015.
She was a high-profile campaigner for the losing ‘Remain’ camp in last month’s European Union membership referendum.
David Davis, a former junior Foreign Secretary and strong Brexit advocate, was appointed to lead the country’s negotiations for exiting the European Union, May’s office said.
Davis, a senior Conservative lawmaker who was beaten by former prime minister David Cameron in the party’s 2005 leadership election contest, was appointed to the newly-created role of Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.
He will take on the crucial role of securing Britain’s economic security whilst unpicking over four decades of trade, legal and diplomatic ties to the EU.
