Emmerson Mnangagwa became Zimbabwe's second president after outmaneuvering long-time ruler Robert Mugabe with a military-backed coup in 2017 - and at 80 shows no signs of wanting to retire.
Nicknamed "The Crocodile" because of his ruthlessness, Mnangagwa, who analysts judge more autocratic than his predecessor and lacking Mugabe's intellectual flair and ideological vision, is seeking to cement his leadership in an election few expect to be free and fair.
Mnangagwa was appointed president after a battle to secure the top job ahead of Mugabe's wife Grace that he initially looked to have lost. His supporters credit him for infrastructure projects including building schools, bridges and repairing roads. He then became defence minister in a troubled power-sharing government formed with the opposition in 2009, and vice president in 2014.Since taking office, he has tried to fashion himself as a down-to-earth politician.
In 2017 he was flown to South Africa for emergency treatment after eating ice cream from a dairy company owned by his arch-rival Grace Mugabe that his allies said was laced with poison.Laconic, thick-set and with dyed black hair, Mnangagwa describes himself as a born-again Christian. He says he abstains from alcohol for six months each year.
President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa is during a Russian-Zimbabwean meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, in January 2019 After blowing up a train, he was arrested in 1964 and sentenced to death, later commuted to 10 years in prison because of his young age - leaving him a life-long vocal opponent of the death penalty.
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