Editing Resignation (section)

==Political examples==
[[File:Nixon-depart.png|thumb|right|200px|President Nixon's last farewell gesture after [[Richard Nixon's resignation speech|his resignation in 1974]].]]
A resignation is a personal decision to exit a position, though outside pressure exists in many cases. For example, [[Richard Nixon]] resigned from the office of [[President of the United States]] in  August 1974 following the [[Watergate scandal]], when he was almost certain to have been [[Impeachment|impeached]] by the [[United States Congress]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.history.com/news/the-last-hours-of-the-nixon-presidency-40-years-ago|title = The Last Hours of the Nixon Presidency|access-date = 2018-02-14|website = [[history.com]]|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140808183003/http://www.history.com/news/the-last-hours-of-the-nixon-presidency-40-years-ago|archive-date = 2014-08-08}}</ref>

===Deliberate manoeuvre===
Resignation can be used as a political manoeuvre, as in the [[Philippines]] in July 2005, when ten [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] officials resigned en masse to pressure [[President of the Philippines|President]] [[Gloria Macapagal Arroyo]] to follow suit over [[Hello Garci scandal|allegations of electoral fraud]]. Arroyo's predecessor, [[Joseph Estrada]], was successfully forced out of office during the [[EDSA Revolution of 2001]] as he faced the first [[impeachment]] trial held in the country's history.

In 1995, the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]], [[John Major]], resigned as Leader of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] in order to contest [[1995 Conservative Party leadership election|a leadership election]] with the aim of silencing his critics within the party and reasserting his authority. Having resigned, he stood again and was re-elected. He continued to serve as prime minister until he was defeated in the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 elections]].

However, ascertaining whether an employee had an intent to resign depends on all the circumstances.  As noted by the [[Ontario Superior Court of Justice]], an employee's storming off may not legally be a resignation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Indignation Not Resignation: An Employee Storming off Does Not Mean She Is Quitting |newspaper=Mondaq Business Briefing |date=January 19, 2017 |last1=McKechnie |first1=Dave |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-478029669.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017001944/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-478029669.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 17, 2018 }}</ref>

===When criticised===
Although government officials may tender their resignations, they are not always accepted. This could be a gesture of confidence in the official, as with [[US President]] [[George W. Bush]]'s refusal of his [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[Donald Rumsfeld]]'s twice-offered resignation during the [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shanker |first1=Thom |title=Rumsfeld Says He Offered to Quit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/04/politics/rumsfeld-says-he-offered-to-quit.html |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=4 February 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529171955/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/04/politics/rumsfeld-says-he-offered-to-quit.html |archive-date=2015-05-29}}</ref>

However, refusing a resignation can be a method of severe censure if it is followed by dismissal; [[Alberto Fujimori]] attempted to resign as [[President of Peru]], but his resignation was refused so that [[Congress of Peru|Congress]] could impeach him.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rotella |first1=Sebastian |title=Peruvian Congress Rejects Fujimori's Resignation and Fires Him Instead |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-22-mn-55679-story.html |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=22 November 2000}}</ref>