Editing Resignation

{{short description|Formal act of quitting one's position}}
{{other uses}}

'''Resignation'''  is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by [[election]] or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choosing not to seek an additional term, is not considered resignation.

When an employee chooses to leave a position, it is considered a resignation, as opposed to [[Termination of employment|involuntary termination]].  Whether an employee resigned or was terminated is sometimes a topic of dispute, because in many situations, a terminated employee is eligible for [[Severance package|severance pay]] and/or [[unemployment benefits]], whereas one who voluntarily resigns may not be eligible. [[Abdication]] is the equivalent of resignation for a reigning [[monarch]], [[pope]], or holder of another similar position.

==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>

==Delivery==
For many public figures, primarily departing politicians, resignation is an opportunity to deliver a valedictory [[resignation speech]] in which they can elucidate the circumstances of their exit from office and in many cases deliver a powerful speech which often commands much attention. This can be used to great political effect, particularly as, subsequent to resigning, government ministers are no longer bound by [[collective responsibility]] and can speak with greater freedom about current issues.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}

"Spending more time with family" is a common reason credited during public resignations,<ref name="Daly1996">{{cite book|last=Daly|first=Kerry|title=Families & Time: Keeping Pace in a Hurried Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eUd2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117|year=1996|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4522-4888-2|page=117}}</ref><ref name="FriedmanGreenhaus2000">{{cite book|last1=Friedman|first1=Stewart D.|last2=Greenhaus|first2=Jeffrey H.|title=Work and Family--Allies or Enemies?: What Happens When Business Professionals Confront Life Choices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fevFQmjzVAAC&pg=PA152|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-802725-6|page=152}}</ref> especially as a euphemism when receding from scandal.<ref name="Smith2014">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Nick|title=Justice through Apologies: Remorse, Reform, and Punishment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EMoNAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|year=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-86730-6|page=29}}</ref>

==Other organisations==
In academia, a university president or the editor of a scientific journal may also resign, particularly in cases where an idea which runs counter to the mainstream is being promoted. In 2006, Harvard president [[Lawrence Summers]] resigned after making the provocative suggestion that the underrepresentation of female academics in math and science<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pnas.org/content/108/8/3157.full |title=Understanding current causes of women's underrepresentation in science |publisher=PNAS |date=2011-02-22 |access-date=2018-10-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918222523/http://www.pnas.org/content/108/8/3157.full |archive-date=2011-09-18}}</ref> could be due to factors other than sheer discrimination, such as personal inclination or innate ability.

In a club, society, or other [[voluntary association]], a member may resign from an officer position in that organization or even from the organization itself. In [[Robert's Rules of Order]], this is called a [[request to be excused from a duty]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised|last = Robert|first = Henry M.|publisher = Da Capo Press|year = 2011|isbn = 978-0-306-82020-5|location = Philadelphia, PA|pages = 289–292|edition = 11th|display-authors=etal}} (RONR)</ref> A resignation may also be withdrawn.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html#18|title = Frequently Asked Questions about RONR (Question 18)|access-date = 2015-12-11|website = The Official Robert's Rules of Order Web Site|publisher = The Robert's Rules Association|archive-date = 2018-12-24|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181224205021/http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html#18|url-status = dead}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Lists of resignations]]
* [[Resignation from the British House of Commons]]
* [[Resignation from the United States Senate]]
* [[Request to be excused from a duty]]
* [[Resignation syndrome]]
* {{section link|Dismissal (employment)|Changes of conditions}}
* [[Letter of resignation]]
* [[Resignation services]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Wiktionary}}
*{{cite news |title= 6 Questions to Ask Before You Quit|url=https://vanna.com/articles/read/6-questions-to-ask-before-you-quit-7018?hl=en| publisher=Vanna}}
*{{cite book |title= Fighters And Quitters: Great Political Resignations |first1=Theo |last1=Barclay |location=London |publisher=Biteback Publishing |date=February 5, 2018 |isbn=9781785903540}}
*{{cite book |title=The Perfect Resignation Letter: I Fired My Boss |url=https://books.google.com/books? |isbn=978-0578154640 |first1=Fancy |last1=Frenchwood  |publisher=Infinite Momentum |date=December 13, 2014}}
*{{cite book |title=Law Relating to Resignation and VRS |url=https://books.google.com/books |isbn=978-8175347304 |first1=Harbans Lal |last1=Kumar |first2=Gaurav |last2=Kumar |location=Delhi |publisher=Universal Law Pub. Co|date=2009}}
*The Bird of Wifdom (January 1, 1755) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=CztcAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1&lpg=PA Remarks on the Resignation of a Noble Lord]'' [A satire on John Perceval, Earl of Egmont]

{{Employment}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Termination of employment]]
[[Category:Resignations| ]]