Después del mandato, decidió dimitir y dejar de gobernar.

Because de + el contracts to del in Spanish.

So:

• después de el mandato → incorrect
• después del mandato → correct

This contraction happens whenever de is followed by the masculine singular article el.

A similar contraction is:

• a + el → al

One important exception: if El is part of a proper name, it does not contract, for example de El Escorial.

Here, mandato means a term in office or period of rule/administration, especially in a political context.

So después del mandato means something like:

• after the term in office
• after the administration
• after the period of rule

It does not usually mean a spoken command here, even though mandato can also mean mandate in other contexts.

Because después normally works with the preposition de when something comes after it.

Examples:

• después de la reunión = after the meeting
• después del verano = after the summer
• después de comer = after eating

So in this sentence:

• después del mandato = after the term in office

This is a fixed pattern: después de + noun / infinitive.

Decidió is the third person singular preterite of decidir.

It means:

• he decided
• she decided
• it decided
  depending on context

The preterite is used because this is seen as a completed action in the past.

Conjugation of decidir in the preterite:

• yo decidí
• tú decidiste
• él/ella/usted decidió
• nosotros decidimos
• vosotros decidisteis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes decidieron

In the sentence, the subject is understood rather than stated.

Because Spanish often uses a conjugated verb + infinitive directly, without needing a separate word like English to.

So:

• decidió dimitir = decided to resign
• quiere comer = wants to eat
• puede venir = can come

The infinitive in Spanish already contains the idea of the basic verb form, so no extra word is needed.

Dimitir means to resign, especially from a public, official, or political position.

In Spain, it is a very common word in political and formal news language.

For example:

• El ministro dimitió. = The minister resigned.
• Tuvo que dimitir. = He/She had to resign.

A learner may also know renunciar, but they are not always used in exactly the same way.

• dimitir = resign from a post, often official or political
• renunciar = resign / give up / renounce, broader in meaning

In this sentence, dimitir sounds very natural.

Because both verbs depend on decidió.

The structure is:

• decidió dimitir
• (decidió) dejar de gobernar

Spanish avoids repeating decidió, so the second infinitive is just linked with y.

In English, this works the same way:

• He decided to resign and to stop governing
• or more naturally
• He decided to resign and stop governing

Dejar de + infinitive means to stop doing something or to cease doing something.

So:

• dejar de gobernar = to stop governing
• dejar de fumar = to stop smoking
• dejar de hablar = to stop talking

This is a very common Spanish structure.

Be careful: dejar by itself often means to leave or to let, but dejar de is a different construction with the meaning to stop.

Because after dejar de, Spanish uses the infinitive, not the gerund.

So the correct pattern is:

• dejar de + infinitive

Examples:

• dejar de comer
• dejar de trabajar
• dejar de gobernar

Not:

• dejar de gobernando → incorrect

English uses stop + -ing very often, but Spanish normally uses dejar de + infinitive.

No. Gobernar can mean to govern, to rule, or to be in power, and it can be used for a country, region, city, or sometimes more abstractly.

Examples:

• gobernar un país = to govern a country
• gobernar una región = to govern a region

In this sentence, it most likely refers to political rule or being in office.

Because Spanish often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person.

Here:

• decidió already tells you it is he/she/usted

So Spanish does not need to say:

• Él decidió...
• Ella decidió...

unless the speaker wants emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

This is very normal in Spanish and is one of the first things English speakers notice.

Yes, depending on the exact nuance.

Possible alternatives include:

• tras el mandato = after the term/after the administration
• al terminar el mandato = when the term ended
• después de su mandato = after his/her term

The original sentence is perfectly correct, but other options may sound more specific depending on context.

For example:

• después del mandato = after the term in office
• después de su mandato = after his/her term in office

It sounds mostly neutral to formal, especially because of words like mandato and dimitir.

• mandato is common in political or official contexts
• dimitir is especially common in formal/news language
• dejar de gobernar is neutral and clear

So the whole sentence would sound very natural in a news article, historical text, or political discussion.