KEY POINTS:
POLOKWANE, South Africa - South Africa's ruling ANC has elected Jacob Zuma as its new leader, dumping President Thabo Mbeki and putting the populist politician on course to lead the country in 2009.
Zuma, an ethnic Zulu, is a darling of the ANC rank and file in contrast to the haughty and intellectual Mbeki. But uncertainty over his policies and his strong left-wing backing have caused jitters among many investors.
Zuma's victory means he is almost certain to succeed Mbeki as president when the head of state has to step down in 2009.
Markets fear Zuma could reverse Mbeki's centrist policies, which have fuelled the longest period of growth in Africa's economic powerhouse.
Rivalry between backers of the two men opened the worst rifts in the history of the previously monolithic ANC, which has ruled almost unchallenged since apartheid ended in 1994.
The vote was delayed by two days of often chaotic wrangling and barracking of Mbeki and his ministers.
The rifts have dismayed veterans including Nelson Mandela and raised fears that continued infighting will divert the government's attention from a huge AIDS epidemic, widespread crime and poverty.
The ANC rank and file accuse Mbeki of neglecting these issues in favour of market-friendly policies.
Despite investors' fears, Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils on Tuesday denied that ANC policy was likely to change under Zuma, echoing statements by other officials.
"The economy is a very central issue. That is where there will be thorough discussion...I would not see a (policy shift) but rather finding a way of delivering to the poor," he told reporters at the conference in the northern town of Polokwane.
Analysts say markets were prepared for a Zuma victory and not all investors share the view that he is a threat to prudent economic policies.
Some say more public spending, on healthcare, education and infrastructure, is vital to defuse dangerous resentment among the millions of blacks who remain in poverty under majority rule.
Although he must step down as South Africa's head of state in 2009, Mbeki wanted to retain control of the party to avoid becoming a lame duck and to influence the choice of his successor as president.
Zuma, backed by the trade unions, went into the congress with huge momentum over Mbeki, whose opponents say he has become autocratic and unapproachable and has moved too slowly to help millions of poor blacks.
Zuma has tried to reassure investors there would be no sweeping economic policy changes under his leadership.
He has met businessmen overseas and toured poor villages at home on an American-style campaign trail, staging a remarkable comeback after a rape trial and graft allegations that would have buried most politicians.
He was acquitted in the rape trial but evidence, including his admission that he showered after sex with an HIV-positive family friend to avoid infection, tarnished his reputation.
Here are some key facts about Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, born April 12, 1942:
* Zuma was South Africa's deputy president for six years before his sacking in 2005 by President Thabo Mbeki after he was implicated in a graft trial that saw his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik convicted on fraud and corruption charges.
- Zuma was also charged with graft but the case was thrown out on a technicality but a high court ruling in November 2007 cleared the way for evidence to be used against him in any future prosecution. Zuma was also acquitted of rape charges in May 2006.
* A former member of the ANC's military wing, Zuma rose through the ranks to become head of intelligence in the party, a post that gave him leverage over allies and opponents alike. Like Nelson Mandela, he was imprisoned on Robben Island for conspiring to overthrow white rule, spending 10 years in jail before going into exile.
* Earthy and approachable, the ethnic Zulu from KwaZulu-Natal province has earned respect as a peacemaker at home, mediating between the ANC and the Zulu-dominated Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) at the height of violence in the early 1990s to head off a possible civil war.
* Zuma's position in the ANC strikes a tribal balance in an organisation perceived to be dominated by leaders from the Xhosa tribe of Mandela and Mbeki.
* Zuma received no formal schooling. He was formerly married to South Africa's current foreign minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
- REUTERS
