“Political life is like a big wheel: constantly turning. At times you are up, at times down. But always, the wheel keeps moving,” noted former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. That remains so for many politicians even after their political days have ended.Typically, there are the three acts in a politician's life: life before, during and after. Most of those who once held office will affirm that the energies that pulsated around their careers as elected officials were like a kind of drug – stimulating, confounding and frequently ego-boosting. Many, though not all, will say that those years were the highlight of their lives, the times when they felt they made the greatest difference in public service.There is a life following politics that can be deeply fulfilling and frequently without the rancor and partisanship that made life so difficult in earlier years. Being in political life is akin to being at university – presidents, economists, entertainers, moral leaders, scientists, and even other political elites come to where you are as a legislator and teach you invaluable things you would never learn otherwise. By the time your political career ends, you possess an education like few others and these benefits can greatly enhance life after politics.There are hundreds, thousands even, of such examples of those who have made a profound impact following their political years of service. People like David Kilgour.First elected to the House of Commons in 1979, he became one of Canada's longest serving representatives, re-elected seven times in his Edmonton home riding, and finally deciding not to run in the January 2006 election. He fulfilled numerous key roles in both Conservative and Liberal governments: Deputy Speaker, Chair of the Committees of the Whole House, and Secretary of State for Latin American and Africa, then for the Asia-Pacific region.[caption id="attachment_353339" align="alignnone" width="232"] David Kilgour (Glen Pearson)[/caption]But it is what Kilgour has taken on since his political tenure ended that is truly remarkable. The list is a long one:

• Fellow of Queen's University for the Study of Democracy
• Director of the New York-based NGO, Advancing Human Rights
• Director of the Ottawa Mission Foundation
• Member of Canadian delegation to Rwanda to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the genocide
• Co-chair of the Canadian Friends of a Democratic Iran group
• Director of the Washington-based Council for a Community of Democracies
• Co-author of a number of books and publications on human rights and dignity and awarded the 2009 Human Rights Prize of the International Society of Human Rights for his work with co-author David Matas on a book to raise awareness of state-sponsored organ pillaging in China

There's more, much more, but from reading of his activities, one clearly gets the sense that his former political life in Ottawa opened doors for him that might otherwise have remained shut. The experience he gained in those years of public service provided Kilgour with an acumen for understanding the good and ills of politics, of public policy, and the need for like-minded nations to unite to overcome an abysmal human rights record in many of the more troubled regions of the world.All of this has taken him to 75 countries serving as a representative of Canada in many difficult situations, frequently accompanied by his wife Laura. In communicating with Kilgour recently, he noted, “It occurs to me that what I'm trying to do, in part, is to voice the voiceless in various corners of the world. Being an MP for all those years taught me just how far one can go in attacking poor governance and human rights abuses.”The life of David Kilgour is a unique third act to his journey, but it isn't alone. In Canada and around the world, hundreds of former politicians from all parties have taken those skills they learned and scars they acquired in the process to accomplish remarkable things for humanity. These women and men continue to build on the investment made in them during their political lives and now in the role of experienced ambassadors of the Canadian genius for settling differences and advancing human rights that has made us the envy of the world.Glen Pearson was a career professional firefighter and is a former Member of Parliament from southwestern Ontario.  He and his wife adopted three children from South Sudan and reside in London, Ontario.  He has been the co-director of the London Food Bank for 29 years.  He writes regularly for the London Free Press and also shares his views on a blog entitled “The Parallel Parliament“.   Follow him on twitter @GlenPearson.