David Cameron is to stand down as MP for Witney, triggering a by-election in the Oxfordshire seat, he has announced.
Mr Cameron told ITV News that he had thought "long and hard" over his choice but had ultimately decided that he would be a "distraction" from the work of government.
Former prime ministers have found that not only does life go on after living at Number 10, but in some cases it actually gets better.
The most recent men to vacate office have shown it can certainly be very lucrative.
Tony Blair made millions from his autobiography and for eight years represented the US, Russia, the UN and the EU as a Middle East Envoy.
He also reportedly earns £250,000 per speech.
Gordon Brown gets a reported £65,000 as an after-dinner speaker and is the United Nations special envoy for education.
ITV News At Ten Presenter Tom Bradby looks at what David Cameron might do next, now that he is resigning as an MP.
Mr Cameron may remain motivated by the public service ideals that drove him into politics, becoming an advocate for a single issue, which would also serve to repair a political legacy badly damaged by the EU referendum result.
If he wants to make money he can go into business knowing he will no longer have to declare the source of his earnings as all MPs must do.
Mr Cameron will also be expected to pen an autobiography or political memoir on his time in Downing Street or perhaps follow other leading politicians into novel writing.
And, of course, there are world lecture forums or the after-dinner circuit that have proven so popularly profitable with his predecessors.
Cameron said he would stay on as Witney MP after resigning as PM - but he said in practice it was an impossible switch.
The former prime minister has stepped down from his position in parliament as he resigned his seat as the MP for Witney.
He rose to lead the country before an equally dramatic downfall after failing to persuade the public to vote to remain in the EU.