Johnson was educated at Bonaly Primary School and Daniel Stewart's and Melville College. He graduated from the University of St Andrews in philosophy and from the University of Strathclyde in management. Johnson joined the Labour party at the age of 17, and his first job after leaving university was working as a constituency caseworker for Edinburgh South's MP Nigel Griffiths. He later went on to work as a management consultant for Accenture. Prior to entering politics, Johnson became managing director of the Paper Tiger and Studio One group of shops. The group became the first independent retailer in Edinburgh to become an accredited Living Wage employer in 2015.
Political career
In January 2014, he was selected by party members as a candidate for Edinburgh Southern at the 2016 election. Johnson was elected to Parliament in the Scottish Parliament elections of 2016. Winning Edinburgh Southern in 2016 gave Johnson the first Labour gain in Scotland since 2007 elections. He became an education minister for Scottish Labour in May 2016. In December 2017, Johnson was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Justice Spokesperson. On 28 May 2019, the day after it was confirmed that Scottish Labour had finished fifth in Scotland in the European Parliament elections and had lost both its Scottish MEPs, Daniel Johnson resigned from his position as Scottish Labour's Justice Spokesperson, criticising the Labour Party's "current direction and leadership". He further noted that Labour had finished sixth in Edinburgh in the European Elections and challenged the party's Brexit policies. He stated in his resignation letter as follows: "My constituents are clear not only that we must have another referendum, but that we must make every effort to ensure the UK remains a member of the EU. This is a view that I share." He is currently deputy convener of the Education and Skills Committee.
Personal life
Johnson resides in the constituency with his wife, Jackie, and two daughters. Johnson revealed to Scottish Parliament that he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life at the age of 35. He is believed to be the only politician in any UK parliament to be diagnosed with the condition at this time.
