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London: London's new mayor Boris Johnson divides opinion like few others - a maverick lawmaker loved for his eccentric wit but often maligned for his abrasive tongue.
The uncombed, rumpled suited ex-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 centre 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 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 bufoonish 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 pedalling 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.
Foot in mouth
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson - his full name - 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 offence after labelling 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".
Johnson's first key test is likely to hinge on how he handles relations with China. As mayor, he will be expected to attend at least part of the Beijing Olympics - and his party will hope he is able to avoid offending the hosts. "Chinese cultural influence is virtually nil, and unlikely to increase," Johnson wrote in one of his several books - on subjects ranging from sports cars to Ancient Rome.
Johnson, who was born in New York on June 19, 1964, is the great-grandson of Turkish journalist and government minister Ali Kemal. He was educated at Eton College and read classics at Oxford. A lawmaker in the House of Commons, he represents the genteel southern district of Henley, famed for its annual yachting regatta. He plans to step down as a legislator within 12 months.
Johnson is married to Marina Wheeler, the half-Indian daughter of BBC newsman Charles Wheeler, with whom he has four children.
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