Celebrity Politicians by FlaxmanR

First elected to the city council at the age of 27, Jerry Springer – well before his talk show days – served one year in the late 1970s as mayor of what city?

Having served two terms as a congressman from Sarangani, he announced he would run for Senate in the 2016 elections and has expressed a desire to be president. What politician, better known for his first career in the sports world, also recently got in hot water for comments regarding homosexuality?

He served just three years in Congress before his death – after which his seat was filled by his wife Mary, who went on to serve seven more terms before losing reelection in 2012. What California Republican had also previously been mayor of Palm Springs, and is believed to be the only member of Congress ever to have had a #1 hit single (albeit three decades before he was elected)?

As a prominent conservative voice, his endorsement was highly coveted during the 1996 primaries. He ended up endorsing Steve Forbes just after Bob Dole had racked up a number of primary wins, a move that was widely criticized but somewhat surprisingly did not affect his personal fortunes. What nine-term Congressman and former quarterback later joined the Dole ticket in a move to make it more conservative?

Jimmy Morales assumed the presidency in January 2016 following a corruption scandal that ousted previous president Otto Perez Molina. Morales had previously been a television comedian in what Central American nation, also site of a 1954 CIA-backed coup?

He was the lawyer for Marie Ragghianti, a Tennessee parole board chair who had been fired for refusing to release felons who had bribed aides to the state’s governor to obtain pardons, and later played himself in a 1985 film of her story, his first acting role. What actor and politician is probably best known for a role he started playing in 2002 – several months before his Senate term ended?

He controversially appeared for an October 2015 House of Lords vote regarding cuts to tax credits, his first vote in more than two years. (Despite his pro-government vote, the Lords ended up voting to delay the cuts.) What Conservative life peer was supposedly in London to attend the opening night of Cats, as opposed to having flown in exclusively for the purpose of voting to cut tax credits?

Founded in 1902 on the Monterey Peninsula, it has long been an artistic enclave and has had multiple actors serve as mayor. What California town is perhaps most noteworthy for its municipal code against high heels and the one term as mayor served in the late 1980s by Clint Eastwood?

After serving in Paul Martin’s cabinet as Minister of Social Development, he ran for leadership of the Liberal Party in 2006 but was eliminated after finishing last on the second ballot. Other post-playing-career positions of note include serving as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and as Al Michaels’ color commentator for the Miracle on Ice. What Canadian goalie made the Hockey Hall of Fame despite just seven full NHL seasons – in which he won five Vezina Trophies?

In 1995 he won the Ballon d’Or as the top player in world football, still the only African to have done so. Since entering politics, he has twice lost elections to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, for the presidency in 2005 and as Winston Tubman’s vice president in 2011. What Liberian former soccer star finally held office in 2014 after his election to the country’s Senate?

Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course, was famously elected governor of California in a 2003 recall election, just the second successful gubernatorial recall in US history. But what sitting governor – a Democrat who had just won reelection the previous fall – was ousted in favor of Schwarzenegger?

Although not a celebrity in her own right, Tarja Halonen gained a small amount of fame in the United States during her presidency for bearing a resemblance to Conan O’Brien. In what nation did Halonen serve as president from 2000 to 2012, which O’Brien visited in 2006 to meet Halonen in person?