Reservations required
The Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson
The Bynum Merritt Hunter Memorial Lecture
Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Leader of the Conservative Party, Foreign Secretary and Mayor of London.
In 2019 he led the Conservative Party to an extraordinary election victory, winning their biggest majority in the House of Commons since 1987 and the highest share of the vote of any party since 1979. The result was a major realignment in British politics, with Johnson’s Conservatives winning unprecedented support in areas they had never before represented. Delivering Brexit — the UK’s exit from the European Union — was Johnson’s first major achievement in Downing Street. At home, he unleashed a visionary agenda of domestic policy reform, with a focus on infrastructure, education and technology. When Covid-19 struck, he led the UK through the darkest days of the pandemic, at one point becoming himself seriously ill from the disease.
Johnson first entered Parliament in 2001 as MP for Henley. He was twice elected Mayor of London, where he oversaw the London 2012 Olympic Games. After being returned to the House of Commons in 2015, representing Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Johnson served as Foreign Secretary.
In addition to his work in politics, Johnson is an award-winning journalist, writer and editor. He is the author of almost a dozen books, from the globally bestselling historical biography of Winston Churchill, The Churchill Factor, to the self-illustrated children’s book The Perils Of Pushy Parents. He edited the Spectator magazine for six years and has written for dozens of major publications.
Bynum Hunter was the symbol of decency, collegiality, and courtesy … a true “Southern Gentleman.” He was a graduate of Woodberry Forest, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and UNC Law School. As captain of the Carolina track team, he ran at Madison Square Garden. Known for his brilliance and prowess in the courtroom, he was the youngest inductee to the American College of Trial Lawyers and served as President of the North Carolina Bar Association. Fiercely devoted to his country, his family, his friends, and the common cause of humanity, he served as a second lieutenant in the Navy during World War II. When his wife, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, served as the United States Ambassador to Finland, he was proud to be at her side in Helsinki. Hunter was a man of impeccable character, integrity, social graces, and patriotism.