Former President Donald Trump is on his third set of criminal charges since leaving office, an unprecedented event in the U.S. His allies say this kind of thing only happens in so-called banana republics.That’s far from true. There is a long history of world leaders prosecuted before, during and after holding power with representation across continents, from Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro to South Africa’s Jacob Zuma. Some hailed from rich economies like France and Germany and some even held public office again after being charged.
Here are some notable cases:
EUROPE
Who: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Age: 68
Charges: Sarkozy was sentenced in 2021 to a one-year prison term for helping a magistrate land a prestigious job in return for information about a legal investigation. Although the conservative leader lost his appeal, the sentence hasn’t been carried out. In a separate case, Sarkozy was found guilty of deliberately breaking campaign-finance rules in his failed 2012 reelection bid. He was handed a one-year sentence, but that’s suspended while he appeals.
Who: Former French President Jacques Chirac
Age: Deceased
Charges: In 2011, Chirac became the first French head of state in the modern era to be convicted of a crime after leaving office. The late center-right leader, who was too sick to attend court, was found guilty of misusing Paris city funds when he was mayor of the capital, and convicted to a two-year suspended term.
Who: Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
Age: Deceased
Charges: Kohl faced allegations of corruption and illegal party financing shortly after the conservative bloc lost the 1998 election against the Social Democrats. Prosecutors investigated Kohl for over a year but finally decided in 2001 to drop the case under the condition that the former chancellor pay a stiff fine, which he did.