In the 1979 revolution in Iran, the world thought it had found a liberating hero when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini came out of exile in France to lead that nation.

FORBES: Obama and Egypt: When Leading Means Holding Back

The general promised not to execute Mr Sharif, which may have been in his mind at the time, and held out the possibility of exile if the Saudis could guarantee that he would renounce politics.

ECONOMIST: Nawaz Sharif has been exiled to Saudi Arabia

Although England have struggled to find an aggressive opening batsman for limited-overs cricket since his retirement, Trescothick has twice rejected appeals by successive England captains Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss to come out of his self-imposed international exile.

BBC: Trescothick flies home from India

Banned for life from their event after a knock-down, drag-out fight, they return from years of exile to compete as the first all-male pair.

NEWYORKER: Blades of Glory

Crucially for the team's long-term Test prospects, Zimbabwe has managed to break out of its default setting during the six-year exile from Test cricket that ended two years ago of fielding a spin-dominated attack.

WSJ: Bangladesh Cricket Team Bruised After Tour of Zimbabwe

In other circumstances, Mr Milosevic might be lured out of office by the promise of a comfortable life in exile.

BBC: Russia's role in Yugoslavia

Syngman Rhee, who became South Korea's first head of state in 1948, was forced out and died in exile in Hawaii.

ECONOMIST: South Korea

Ninoy's 1983 assassination on his return to Manila from exile in the U.S. catapulted her out of his shadow and into the spotlight.

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