Political Folklore: The Folklore of Political Resignations

John Profumo, the British Secretary of State for War, resigned in 1963 after it was revealed that he had an affair with Christine Keeler, a call girl who was also involved with a Soviet diplomat.

Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States on August 9, 1974, in the face of impeachment and possible criminal charges related to the Watergate scandal.

Bettino Craxi, the Italian Prime Minister from 1983 to 1987, resigned in 1994 after being accused of corruption and receiving bribes.

Helmut Kohl, the Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998, resigned in 1998 after it was revealed that he had accepted illegal campaign contributions from a German arms dealer.

Jacques Chirac, the President of France from 1995 to 2007, resigned in 1995 after being convicted of corruption and embezzlement.

Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007, resigned in 2007 after a series of scandals, including allegations of cronyism and vote buying.

Paul Martin, the Prime Minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006, resigned in 2008 after a scandal involving the misuse of government funds for advertising and sponsorship.

Park Geun-hye, the President of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, resigned in 2017 after being impeached for corruption and abuse of power.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel from 2009 to 2021, resigned in 2021 after being indicted on corruption charges.

Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022, resigned in 2022 after losing a leadership challenge within his own party.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022, resigned in 2022 after a series of protests against his government's handling of the country's economic crisis.

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022, resigned in 2022 after a series of scandals, including allegations of parties and gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mario Draghi, the Prime Minister of Italy from 2021 to 2022, resigned in 2022 after losing a confidence vote in parliament.

Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022, resigned in 2022 after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament.

Pedro Castillo, the President of Peru from 2021 to 2022, was impeached and removed from office in 2022 after being accused of corruption and obstruction of justice.