When World War II broke out, he declared himself a pacifist, and even fled to America.

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After Mr Foss declared himself to be homosexual, he easily won election earlier this year as party boss in Oslo, the capital.

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The German weekly added that a rebel deputy on Tuesday declared himself independent while another said he refused to vote for an austerity package on Wednesday.

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Among other antics, he sent taunting telegrams to Britain's queen, declared himself king of Scotland, challenged the Tanzanian president to a boxing match, and staged a mock invasion of South Africa on an island in Lake Victoria.

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He declared himself happy with his performance but believes there is more to come in future - with winning one of the shorter, flatter stages a target to work towards.

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Dominique Strauss-Kahn was the front-runner to be the next French president, although he had not yet declared himself a candidate.

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He sat out the Champions Trophy in India but declared himself ready for the Ashes series in Australia, only to pull out days before it began.

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Then, after shouting for several minutes that he declared himself innocent and that he had "never ordered the death of anybody", he was asked to calm down by the judge.

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