Resign - Definition and Overview

A resignation occurs when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down. Leaving of a job upon the expiration of a term is not a resignation. A resignation is a personal decision to exit a position, though outside pressure exists in many cases.

This can be used politically, as in Iran when law makers resigned in protest when they feared recent reforms would be repealed. One of the most famous resignations in history is that of Richard Nixon from the office of President of the United States in 1974 following the Watergate scandal.

Although government officials may tender their resignations, they are not always accepted. The word abdication is an equivalent term used for the resignation of reigning monarchs.

List of resignations

• John C. Calhoun - 1832 - Vice President of the United States
• Spiro T. Agnew - 1973 - Vice President of the United States
• Richard Milhous Nixon - 1974 - President of the United States
• Morihiro Hosokawa - 1994 - Prime Minister of Japan
• Tsutomu Hata - 1994 - Prime Minister of Japan
• Christine Todd Whitman - 2003 - Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Eduard A. Shevardnadze - 2003 - President of Georgia
• George Tenet - 2004 - Director of Central Intelligence
• James McGreevey - 2004 - Governor of New Jersey