SOUTH AFRICA'S PRESIDENT: JACOB ZUMA

He was born into poverty, went into exile to fight white minority rule and has had to battle accusations of rape and corruption during a bitter power struggle. But his poor roots, charisma and strength in adversity partly explain his enduring popularity. Before he became the country's leader in May 2009, attention focused on his numerous legal problems.

But his private life has since grabbed the headlines. The 67-year-old proud polygamist - following a Zulu tradition - has taken a third wife but has come in for far more criticism after admitting fathering a child with another woman.

Barely four years ago, his political career was all but written off when he was simultaneously battling allegations of rape and corruption - double charges which would have sunk the career of many politicians. Mr Zuma was acquitted of rape, but the corruption case proved harder to shake off.

He always denied charges of money-laundering and racketeering, stemming from a controversial $5bn (£3.4bn) 1999 arms deal and had said he would resign if found guilty of wrong-doing.
His supporters always said the accusations against their leader were politically motivated and this was eventually backed up by phone-tap evidence. The charges were thrown out just weeks before the elections which saw him become president.

Mr Zuma's supporters say his charismatic popular touch is a refreshing contrast to former President Thabo Mbeki, who was seen as rather aloof. "He is a man who listens; he doesn't take the approach of an intellectual king," said one unnamed supporter, in an apparent swipe at Mr Mbeki, from whom Mr Zuma wrested control of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in 2007 after a bitter struggle. It was allies of then-President Mbeki who were accused of interfering in Mr Zuma's prosecution.

Born in 1942 and brought up by his widowed mother in Zululand, Mr Zuma had no formal schooling. He joined the ANC at the age of 17, becoming an active member of its military wing, Umkhonto We Sizwe, in 1962. He was convicted of conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government and imprisoned for 10 years on the notorious Robben Island, alongside Nelson Mandela.

Mr Zuma is said to have helped keep up morale among the incarcerated ANC grandees with songs and impromptu theatre. The Zulu traditionalist subsequently left South Africa, living first in Mozambique, then Zambia, as he rose through the ANC ranks to the executive committee.

He became one of the first leaders to return home in 1990 - when the ban on the ANC was removed - to take part in negotiations with the white minority government. He credits his political awakening to a family member who was an active trade unionist. Throughout his political career, Mr Zuma, popularly known as "JZ", has honed his image as a champion of the poor and oppressed. He enjoys strong support among trade unionists and the communist party - an ANC ally - as they believe he will redistribute South Africa's wealth in favour of the poor.