It is a US first, but Donald Trump joins a list of other world leaders in facing criminal charges.
Donald Trump on Tuesday will become the first sitting or former US president to appear in court to face criminal charges.
The former leader and current 2024 Republican presidential hopeful was criminally indicted last week in a New York investigation into a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Although the charges are a US first, Trump is by no means the only world leader to face criminal charges.
Here are some of the former leaders who also faced the dock:
Argentina
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: In 2022, Argentina’s vice president was found guilty of fraud in a case dating back to when she was president from 2007 to 2015. She was sentenced to six years in prison and received a lifetime ban from holding political office.
Brazil
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: The current Brazilian president, who also led the country from 2003 to 2010, was convicted in 2017 on charges of money laundering and corruption. The conviction was overturned in 2021.
Croatia
Ivo Sanader: In 2020, the former Croatian prime minister was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to eight years in prison. He is currently serving out his sentence.
France
Jacques Chirac: In 2011, the former French president, who died in 2019, was convicted of corruption and handed a two-year suspended jail sentence. He was also found guilty of influence peddling, breach of trust and embezzlement during his time as the mayor of Paris.
Nicolas Sarkozy: In 2021, Sarkozy became the second former French president to be convicted of corruption and influence peddling. He was sentenced to three years in jail, two of them suspended.
Germany
Christian Wulff: In 2013, the former German president went on trial after he was accused of receiving and granting favours in office. He was found not guilty in 2014.
Israel
Moshe Katsav: In 2011, the former Israeli president was handed a seven-year prison sentence for rape and other sexual offences against subordinates. He served just over five years.
Ehud Olmert: In 2015, the former Israeli prime minister was convicted of fraud, breach of trust and tax evasion and sentenced the following year. He served two-thirds of a 27-month sentence.
Benjamin Netanyahu: The current Israeli prime minister, who is serving his sixth term, is on trial for fraud, breach of trust and corruption. He was indicted in 2019 in long-running cases in which he is accused of receiving gifts from millionaire friends and granting regulatory favours for media tycoons in return for favourable coverage.
Italy
Silvio Berlusconi: The former Italian prime minister was acquitted of charges of bribery in three trials in 2023, 2022 and 2021. He was also acquitted in 2015 of charges related to underage prostitution and abuse of office. Berlusconi has faced more than 30 criminal court cases since entering politics in 1994.
Malaysia
Muhyiddin Yassin: The former Malaysian prime minister was charged last month with abuse of power and money laundering in connection with the awarding of government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Najib Razak: Another former Malaysian prime minister, Najib is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence, which began in 2022 after he lost an appeal in a corruption case. In 2020, he was found guilty of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering related to the looting of the 1MDB state development fund.
South Africa
Jacob Zuma: The former South African president is involved in an ongoing corruption trial, in which he faces charges related to money laundering and racketeering during his time as deputy president in 1999.
South Korea
Lee Myung-bak: In 2020, the former South Korean president was sentenced to 17 years in prison for bribery and embezzlement but was pardoned in 2022.
Park Geun-hye: Former president Park, the first woman to hold the position, was found guilty in 2018 of charges related to bribery and coercion. She was handed a 15-year prison sentence but was also pardoned in 2021.
Pakistan
Imran Khan: At least 85 cases have been filed against the former Pakistani prime minister. Khan faces charges of corruption, “terrorism”, contempt of court, rioting and blasphemy.
Portugal
Jose Socrates: In 2017, the former prime minister was indicted on corruption charges, including bribery, money laundering and tax fraud. In 2021, a judge dismissed the corruption charges but upheld the lesser charges.
