Helen Clark "The New Zealand Herald". In a close race she received 25 percent of the vote, ahead of Victoria Cross recipient Willie Apiata at 21 percent. Then Prime Minister John Key said he was not surprised by the poll, saying "... she is well thought of as a New Zealand Prime Minister." Clark was the first defeated Labour Prime Minister to immediately resign the party leadership rather than lead it in Opposition. She served as the shadow foreign affairs spokesperson in the Shadow Cabinet of Phil Goff for several months before retiring from Parliament in April 2009 to accept a position
Prime Minister of India Front, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) among others—proved a majority in the Lok Sabha, and Manmohan Singh was elected prime minister; becoming the first Sikh prime minister of the nation. During his tenure, the country retained the economic momentum gained during Prime Minister Vajpayee's tenure. Apart from this, the government succeeded in getting the "National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005", and the "Right to Information Act, 2005" passed in the parliament. Further, the government strengthened India's relations with nations like Afghanistan; Russia; the Gulf states; and the United States, culminating with the ratification of India–United States