Request Denied Trivia Quiz

Answer: Margaret Thatcher

Mark Thatcher is the son of the late UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Mark Thatcher and his twin sister Carol were born to future PM Thatcher in 1953 before the start of her political career. Mark was always considered a political liability for his mother. In 1987, after accusations of potential conflict of interests between certain of Mark's African business deals and Mrs. Thatcher's policies he either volunteered or was pushed to move the US. Mark married a wealthy US woman and lived in the US until 1996 when he hastily exited the country under a cloud of alleged tax evasion and moved to South Africa. While in South Africa Thatcher was the subject of an investigation alleging he made improper loans and used abusive debt collection tactics.

However, it was Sir Mark's (inherited peerage from his father) involvement with a failed coup in the African country of Equatorial Guinea that was the cause of the entry ban in the US. In 2005, Mark Thatcher was convicted of violating South African anti-mercenary laws by providing funding to a group that attempted to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea. As a result of the conviction, the US government denied Thatcher a visa to enter the country, despite the fact that his first wife and two children are US citizens and reside in the country.

Answer: India

In May 2014 Narendra Modi was appointed the Prime Minister of India. This fact nearly created an international crisis, putting the world's largest democracy (India) at odds with the US because Mr. Modi had been banned from entry into the US since 2005. In 2005, Modi was scheduled to attend a rally for Indian-Americans in New York City. However, his visa was denied by the US State Department. The State Department cited an obscure and otherwise forgotten 1998 law that makes foreign officials responsible for "severe violations of religious freedom" ineligible for visas. The allegations against Mr. Modi stem from his time as Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gurujat.

In 2002 the burning deaths of nearly 60 Hindu pilgrims caused a three-day riot against Muslims living in Gurujat. Before the riots ended, 790 Muslim Indians died along with 250 Hindus with an additional 2000-3000 people injured. While no charges were brought against Mr. Modi, he and his administration were accused of either supporting or failing to act swiftly to quell the riots. Mr. Modi was the first foreign official to be denied entry to the US based on allegations of the abuse of religious freedom law. After his election as Prime Minister, the US rescinded the ban and avoided any further incident with the Indian government.

Answer: He is Jewish and worked for "The Jerusalem Post"

Saudi Arabia is considered one of the most difficult visas to obtain for anyone. The task becomes near impossible if you are Jewish. The Kingdom is clear that it will not issue a visa to citizens of Israel or anyone with an Israeli entrance stamp on their passport. The Kingdom claims not to automatically deny visa or work permit requests from Jewish applicants, but there is ample evidence that the odds of getting a visa drop to nearly zero if you are Jewish.

In 2014, US President Barack Obama planned a state visit to meet with the King of Saudi Arabia. As is typical when the President makes important foreign visits many members of the press corps assigned to report on the US President also make the trip as part of the diplomatic entourage. However, when Michael Wilmer, a Jewish American reporter working for "The Jerusalem Times, applied for a visa, he was summarily denied. Despite private and public attempts to reverse the action, Mr. Wilner did not make the trip to Saudi Arabia.

Answer: Denied visas to enter the UK

Each of these diverse celebrities were denied entry to the UK at one time or another. Boxer Tyson, rapper Busta Rhymes (real name Trevor Smith) and Martha Stewart were denied visas based on criminal convictions. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is part of a diverse group that includes anti-Muslim activists Pamela Geller and Michael Savage on a no entry list of people allegedly engaging in "unacceptable behaviour that may provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence." Other prominent persons who have been banned from the UK include reality TV star Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman, singer Chris Brown and US whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Answer: China (People's Republic)

Brad Pitt starred in the 1997 movie "Seven Years in Tibet" that told the story of Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountain climber and his years in Tibet. Harrer befriends the young Dalai Lama against the backdrop of the 1951 takeover of Tibet by the Chinese. Pitt and co-star David Thewlis were both banned from China for their roles in the film. Scorsese directed the 1997 "Kundun" that also dealt with the invasion of Tibet and the treatment of the Dali Lama. Scorsese, the film's writer Melissa Mathison (her then husband Harrison Ford is also banned for supporting Tibetan independence) and some 50 plus of the film's crew were added to the banned from Tibet list by the Chinese government.

Actor and activist Richard Gere is a practising Buddhist with close ties to the Dali Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. Gere has been an outspoken advocate for an independent Tibet and has been banned from entering China over his comments. In 2009 singer and former Disney star Miley Cyrus was banned from China based on the release of photographs showing Cyrus apparently mocking the Asian eye shape.

Answer: Paul McCartney

For some odd reason music icon McCartney brought nearly a half pound of marijuana with him on a private jet flight from the US to Japan in 1980. The singer was arrested and spent nine days in a Tokyo jail until he was expelled from the country. The deportation required the cancelation of an 11 day tour by McCartney and his then band Wings. McCartney had also been denied a visa to Japan in 1976 for earlier drug arrests. When told about the arrest of his former bandmate, John Lennon said what many others must have also been thinking: "If he really needs weed, surely there's enough people who can carry it for him. You're a Beatle, boy, a Beatle. Your face is in every damn corner of the planet. How could you have been so stupid?"

In 2010, Japan showed the no entry sign for "celebutante" Paris Hilton days after her guilty plea to the misdemeanor drug possession charges in Las Vegas.

Answer: Assault charges

What is it with aggression and British singers? The lovely Ms. Allen, whose real name is Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper, lost her US work visa in 2007 and was banned from the country after she was charged with the assault of a photographer in London. The late Ms. Winehouse led a troubled life filled with drug and alcohol-fuelled problems. Drug convictions in Norway and England caused Ms. Winehouse to be denied a visa for the 2007 Grammys. However, it was a 2008 assault charge in London that pushed the US over the edge. Winehouse was banned from entering the country and could not perform at the 2009 Coachella Valley music festival.

In 2009, George O'Dowd (Boy George) was sentenced to 15 months in an English jail. The sentence stemmed from O'Dowd's 2008 conviction for assault and false imprisonment of a male escort. O'Dowd was thereafter denied entry into the US and not allowed to perform in the country until the ban was rescinded in 2014. Sweet UK celebrity chef Nigella Lawson was barred from entering the US in 2014 after admitting to cocaine use during a hearing in her divorce proceeding. Not so sweet UK celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, despite making a career out of seemingly assaulting young chefs on his cooking competition TV show "Hell's Kitchen" is stilled allowed entry to the US.

Answer: Australia

In February 2015, boxing great Floyd Mayweather was denied a visa to Australia to appear in several promotional events. Mr. Mayweather has a criminal record and in 2012 served a two months jail sentence after pleading guilty to the assault on his former partner in front of their children. The decision to ban Mayweather stemmed from a campaign launched by domestic violence prevention advocates on the activist website "Change.org". The petition garnered tens of thousands of signatures and much media attention ahead of Mayweather's scheduled visit.

Mayweather joins a long list of people denied visas to Australia that includes high-profile performers such as Eminem and Snoop Dogg as well as social media celebrity Dan Blizerian. Julien Blanc, the self-professed dating expert and master "pick-up" artist has also been banned from Australia as well as the UK and Singapore.

Answer: George W. Bush

Canada is not fooling around when it comes to reducing drunk drivers from other countries entering its borders. Canada law permits denial of a visa to any person convicted of a drunk driving or drug impairment offense. This ban is imposed whether or not the person intends to operate a vehicle in Canada. Former President Bush was required to obtain a special waiver to enter Canada in 2000 stemming from his arrest and conviction in 1976 on DUI charges near his family's home in Kennebunkport Maine.

Former President Bush joins a long list of other Americans including rappers Lil Wayne and The Game, as well as "Hunger Games" actor Wes Bentley, who were refused entry into Canada.

Answer: Nazi-era war crimes

From 1972-1981, Austrian Kurt Waldheim served as the 4th Secretary-General of the United Nations. Waldheim was an honored diplomat and important world figure. In 1986, Waldheim was elected President of Austria. Almost immediately after taking office allegations surfaced that Waldheim had been either implicated in or benignly aware of atrocities committed by the Nazi regime during his military service in World War II. Waldheim had admitted that he served in the German Army and had been stationed in Greece and Yugoslavia. His term in the Balkans stationed him near the infamous Croatian controlled Jasenovac concentration camp where upwards of 80,000 people died. Throughout his political career, Waldheim had steadfastly denied any knowledge of genocide activities perpetrated in the camp or against local populations.

In 1986, the scrutiny of Waldheim's war record intensified. While no credible allegations surfaced that Waldheim actively participated in any murderous activities, the court of international opinion condemned Waldheim for his knowledge of atrocities and passive acquiescence in the horrors of the Nazi regime. In response to the information on Waldheim's past, despite being the President of Austria, Waldheim and his wife were declared persona non grata and refused entry to the US for the remainder of their lives.