Passion or Profession: president

Period: 1963–

Pierre Nkurunziza began his career as a teacher and held positions as a high school instructor and at the University of Bujumbura. Amid the nation's ethnic strife, he joined the main Hutu rebel movement, Forces for Defense of Democracy (FDD), and quickly rose to become its leader. In 2003, Nkurunziza signed a peace treaty with then-president Domitien Ndayizeye. Nkurunziza won presidential elections in August 2005, a poll that formally marked the end of Burundi's civil war.