17 Jul 2022

Politicians live longer than the populations they represent

From Sunday Morning, 8:26 am on 17 July 2022

It's common to hear people say they can't think of a worse occupation than being a politician, with the stress and the scrutiny and the workloads. It may come as a surprise then, that,according to a recent study by Oxford University and the Queensland University of Technology, politicians live longer than the rest of us, have done across the long sweep of history, and continue to do so. 

One of study's authors was Professor Adrian Barnett from Queensland University of Technology.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter waves to the congregation after teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia on April 28, 2019. Carter, 94, has taught Sunday school at the church on a regular basis since leaving the White House in 1981, drawing hundreds of visitors who arrive hours before the 10:00 am lesson in order to get a seat and have a photograph taken with the former President and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.  (Photo by Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto) (Photo by Paul Hennessy / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

At 97 years old and with a 41-year-long retirement, Jimmy Carter is both the oldest living and longest-lived president, as well as the one with the longest post-presidency, and his 76-year-long marriage makes him the longest married president. Photo: PAUL HENNESSY