BEIJING, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma will pay a state visit to China from Wednesday to Saturday, the first such visit in his second term.
The following is a profile of him.
Born in NKandla, Zululand (now part of KwaZulu-Natal) on April 12, 1942, Zuma lived an impoverished life when he was young.
He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1958 and devoted himself to the anti-apartheid movement. He was sentenced to 10-year imprisonment by the White-minority authorities and exiled overseas.
In 1990, Zuma returned home from exile and started multiparty constitutional negotiations.
After the founding of the Republic of South Africa, Zuma became the ANC president on Dec. 18, 2007 and was re-elected at the ANC's 53rd National Conference held in Mangaung on Dec. 18, 2012.
In June 1999, Zuma was appointed as the deputy president of the Republic.
He was inaugurated as South African president for his first term in May 2009, and was re-elected for a second term five years later.
Zuma has visited China several times.
