Heads of state who returned to private life and thrived
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Heads of State Who Returned to Private Life and Thrived — Daily trivia Tuesday, June 2, 2026: questions and answers
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Q 01Which legislative body did Margaret Thatcher join after stepping down as Prime Minister?
- AHouse of Lords
- BEuropean Parliament
- CUnited Nations Security Council
- DInternational Court of Justice
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House of Lords
House of Lords. Thatcher left the Commons in 1992 and entered the Lords that year as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, last attending in July 2010.
Q 02Which former U.S. President became a prolific author and won the Nobel Peace Prize after leaving office?
- AGerald Ford
- BGeorge H.W. Bush
- CJimmy Carter
- DRichard Nixon
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Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter. He wrote more than 30 books after leaving the White House, and his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize came over two decades after his presidency ended.
Q 03Which group of veteran world leaders did Nelson Mandela announce on his 89th birthday?
- AThe Global Council
- BThe Peace Assembly
- CThe Council of Sages
- DThe Elders
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The Elders
The Elders launched with figures such as Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan and Mary Robinson. Mandela had by then largely withdrawn from public life, telling the world 'don't call me, I'll call you'.
Q 04Which French president resigned and retired to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises to write 'Memoirs of Hope'?
- ACharles de Gaulle
- BFrançois Mitterrand
- CValéry Giscard d'Estaing
- DGeorges Pompidou
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Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle. He quit after voters rejected his 1969 referendum on regions and the Senate, and died the next year with his memoirs unfinished.
Q 05Which former US president published 'Portraits of Courage', a tribute to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars?
- ABill Clinton
- BGeorge W. Bush
- CBarack Obama
- DGeorge H. W. Bush
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George W. Bush
George W. Bush. He took up painting as a hobby after leaving office, and the book collects his oil portraits of wounded veterans.
Q 06Which former Indian president, known as the 'People's President', died while giving a lecture at IIM Shillong?
- APranab Mukherjee
- BK. R. Narayanan
- CPratibha Patil
- DA. P. J. Abdul Kalam
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A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Before the presidency he led India's missile development, which earned him the nickname 'Missile Man of India'.
Q 07Which former Latin American president became UN High Commissioner for Human Rights?
- AFernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil
- BJuan Manuel Santos of Colombia
- CMichelle Bachelet of Chile
- DCristina Fernández of Argentina
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Michelle Bachelet of Chile
Michelle Bachelet of Chile. Under Pinochet she and her mother were held in torture and detention centres before she fled into exile in 1975.
Q 08Which former president became Chief Justice, an office he wanted more than the White House?
- AGrover Cleveland
- BWilliam Howard Taft
- CHerbert Hoover
- DBenjamin Harrison
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William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft. He remains the only person to hold both offices, and one of just two presidents buried at Arlington, with John F. Kennedy.
Q 09Which former US president won nine terms in the House and collapsed on its floor?
- AMartin Van Buren
- BJohn Quincy Adams
- CJames Monroe
- DJohn Tyler
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John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams. In 1841, aged 73, he argued the Amistad case before the Supreme Court and won freedom for the Africans who had seized the ship.
Q 10Which Roman emperor abdicated in 305 and refused to return, citing the cabbages he had planted?
- AVespasian
- BCaracalla
- CCommodus
- DDiocletian
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Diocletian
Diocletian. The first Roman emperor to step down voluntarily, he retired to a seaside palace that now forms about half of the old town of Split in Croatia.
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