Passion or Profession: president

Period: 1953–

Ethnic conflict forced Domitien Ndayizeye, a Hutu, to leave Burundi in 1972. He lived in exile in Belgium and Rwanda before returning to his homeland in 1993. He became a leading figure in Burundi's main Hutu party, the Hutu Front for Democracy in Burundi (Frodebu) and served as vice-president under Pierre Buyoya from 2001 until 2003. Under the terms of a power-sharing agreement to halt fighting between Tutsi and Hutu, Ndayizeye succeeded Buyoya as president in April 2003. He left office following August 2005 elections.