Countries Who Have Impeached a President

Protesters call for the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in December 2016. Editorial credit: BYUNGSUK KO / Shutterstock.com
Protesters call for the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in December 2016. Editorial credit: BYUNGSUK KO / Shutterstock.com

Impeachment is the procedure by which a jurisdictive group lawfully points concerns against a government's top official. However, it does not necessarily involve confiscation from office; it is an authorized report of charges and is just the beginning towards elimination. Impeachment is typically set aside for individuals who are considered to have committed critical misuse of their places of work.

Countries Who Have Impeached a President

Brazil

There has been an impeachment of two presidents in Brazil, Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello followed by Dilma Rousseff.

Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello was Brazil's 32nd president and was also the first head of state after Brazilian military government who ruled from 1990 to 1992. Fernando faced impeachment trials by the council of Brazil, but he decided to step down after an unsuccessful attempt to discontinue his trial. He had arraignment trial on concerns of corruption to which he was charged guilty of and was penalized to ineligibility from running the office.

Dilma Rousseff was the 36th Brazilian president, and her impeachment was instigated on December 2, 2015. Allegations against Rousseff involved breaching of economic laws. Proof showed that she had been shipping monies between government finances which is unauthorized under the acts of Brazil.

Indonesia

Abdurrahman Wahid vied for the presidency in 1999 under the National Awakening Party, he attained merely 12% of the ballot but was chosen as president by the state assembly after partisan steering. Not long after he fired his minister for security, General Wiranto. Abdurrahman was accused of exploitation and favoritism as voted by his detractors. His deputy Megawati Sukarnoputri took his place after his impeachment by the Senate in July 2001.

Iran

Seyyed Abolhassan Banisadr was the first Iranian president in 1979 after the Iranian Rebellion eliminated the monarchy. Seyyed faced impeachment by parliament on June 20, 1981; accusation proceedings were instigated claiming that Banisadr had political ineffectiveness

Lithuania

Rolandas Paksas was Lithuania's president from 2003 to 2004 but was impeached by the parliament of Lithuania for disrespecting the constitution and his pledge of office. Paksas was faced with allegations of having illegal businesses with Yuri Borisov and granting him nationality illegally. Majority of the members of parliament supported that Rolandas illegitimately arranged citizenship for the businessman and disclosed national secrets.

Paraguay

Fernando Lugo was appointed as Paraguayan president in 2008 but faced impeachment by Congress of Paraguay in June 2012. Fernando faced charges against nepotism and provocative land acquisition. Majority of deputies voted him out, and he was succeeded by his vice Federico Franco. Lugo himself acknowledged accusation but called it a parliamentary coup.

Philippine

Joseph Ejercito Estrada was an actor before he turned out to be the 13th Philippine president who served from 1998 to 2001. Estrada was found with corruption offenses which led to an impeachment hearing by the Congress. He was then overthrown in 2001, and in 2007 Ejercito was penalized for the looting of 80 million dollars from the regime and was imprisoned but later exonerated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Russia

The first Russian president was Boris Yeltsin who has been impeached thrice. The impeachment process was instigated by Parliament, and the first proceedings occurred on March 28, 1993, for contamination of the constitution but it was not approved since deputies failed to reach majority. Impeachment procedures were relaunched against him on September 22, 1993, and in 1999 but both procedures were unsuccessful since the concerns did not attain the required maximum vote.

South Korea

Park Geun-hye, who was the president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, faced impeachment which became the termination of national outrage. The impeachment poll took place on December 9, 2016, with a majority of members voting in favor of impeachment and dismissal of Park from powers and responsibilities. Hwang Kyo-Ahn who was the prime minister at the time came to be interim president before the court determined the ruling.

Ukraine

Viktor Yanukovych who was the Ukrainian president at the time when the revolution began was overthrown by anonymous shooters, and protestors. It is believed that Russian funding for Viktor instigated his cast out.

Venezuela

Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez was the Venezuelan president from the year 1974 to 1979. He was well known for his achievements of economic and communal success due to the massive revenue from petroleum export. However, financial challenges befell his second rule when there was a sequence of social calamity and some coup trials. Carlos became first to be removed from office for the looting of government cash.

Impeachment Significance

Impeachment is considered an essential procedure as it helps the Senate have a significant check on the executive and judicial divisions. It was invented for acts of ineffectiveness, illegal conduct, or poor ruling and was developed as a first step of bringing high authority official offenders to justice.

Countries Who Have Impeached a President

RankCountryNumber of Successful Impeachments
1Brazil2
2Indonesia1
3Iran1
4Lithuania1
5Paraguay1
6Philippines1
7Russia1
8Park Geun-hye1
9Viktor Yanukovych1
10Venezuela1
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