His retirement announcement, 2004
Thank you very much to all of you for taking time out of your very busy schedules to come and listen to me this morning. I have always said that many people come to such gatherings where we are present merely out of curiosity to see what an old man looks like. Having observed the media speculation in recent weeks about my retirement and pending demise, I am even more certain you are present today for exactly that reason. But that does not in any way lessen my appreciation for your presence; on the contrary, we are very happy that old age can still inspire such undeserved attention...
One of the things that made me long to be back in prison was that I had so little opportunity for reading, thinking and quiet reflection after my release. I intend, amongst other things, to give myself much more opportunity for such reading and reflection. And of course, there are those memoirs about the presidential years that now really need my urgent attention. When I told one of my advisors a few months ago that I wanted to retire he growled at me: "you are retired." If that is really the case then I should say I now announce that I am retiring from retirement...
I do not intend to hide away totally from the public, but hence forth I want to be in the position of calling you to ask whether I would be welcome, rather than being called upon to do things and participate in events. The appeal therefore is: don’t call me, I’ll call you.
That is also for our generous business community not to feel too disappointed: I shall not totally forget you. When I notice a worthy cause that needs your support, I shall certainly call you. Seriously therefore: my diary and my public activities will, as from today, be severely and significantly reduced. We trust that people will understand our considerations and will grant us the opportunity for a much quieter life. And I thank all of you in anticipation for your consideration. This does, however, not mean that the work that we have been involved in, supported and promoted comes to an end. It has been our practice to establish organizations to do certain work and then to leave it to those organization to get on with the job."
One of the things that made me long to be back in prison was that I had so little opportunity for reading, thinking and quiet reflection after my release. I intend, amongst other things, to give myself much more opportunity for such reading and reflection. And of course, there are those memoirs about the presidential years that now really need my urgent attention. When I told one of my advisors a few months ago that I wanted to retire he growled at me: "you are retired." If that is really the case then I should say I now announce that I am retiring from retirement...
I do not intend to hide away totally from the public, but hence forth I want to be in the position of calling you to ask whether I would be welcome, rather than being called upon to do things and participate in events. The appeal therefore is: don’t call me, I’ll call you.
That is also for our generous business community not to feel too disappointed: I shall not totally forget you. When I notice a worthy cause that needs your support, I shall certainly call you. Seriously therefore: my diary and my public activities will, as from today, be severely and significantly reduced. We trust that people will understand our considerations and will grant us the opportunity for a much quieter life. And I thank all of you in anticipation for your consideration. This does, however, not mean that the work that we have been involved in, supported and promoted comes to an end. It has been our practice to establish organizations to do certain work and then to leave it to those organization to get on with the job."