Boris Johnson, who led the successful campaign to get Britain out of the European Union, was appointed foreign secretary by new Prime Minister Theresa May, two weeks after she mocked his negotiating skills.

It is the first job in government for Johnson, who finished his second term as London Mayor earlier this year. After David Cameron quit as prime minister, Johnson’s campaign for the job ended on the same day as it began after he lost the backing of his principal supporter, Michael Gove.

Johnson is a surprise choice as foreign secretary since he has a reputation for undiplomatic language. During the Brexit campaign, he compared the EU to one of Adolf Hitler’s projects and stoked fears that Turkey was about join the bloc, leading to mass immigration to Britain. His first test may come at a meeting of EU foreign ministers scheduled in Brussels on Monday.

When she launched her own leadership campaign, May made fun of Johnson’s negotiations with Germany.

“I seem to remember the last time he did a deal with the Germans, he came back with three nearly new water cannons,” she said.

(c) 2016, Bloomberg · Robert Hutton