Mugabe is hardly the only leader to cling to power deep into his eighties

HARARE: Zimbabwe’s veteran strongman Robert Mugabe, who is seeking a seventh term as president, is just one of several heads of state to stay in power well into their eighties.

Mugabe, 89, has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, and is the oldest head of state in Africa.

Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis is 88 and had been in power since 2001, in a largely ceremonial role.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 71, has been in power longer than any other African leader, as president of Equatorial Guinea. Nguema took office on August 3, 1979, and has served for almost 34 years.

In Cameroon, President Paul Biya, 80, has been in power since 1982.

The only African leader known to have ruled into his 90s was Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Malawi’s former “life president”.

In the Middle East, Israeli President Shimon Peres will turn 90 on August 2, and has held his largely symbolic post since 2007.

Peres has been at the forefront of Israeli politics for half a century, serving as prime minister twice and holding most of the government’s cabinet posts at least once.

In Italy, 88-year-old President Giorgio Napolitano was elected for a second term in February, but although he is the country’s longest-serving president, he has only held the position since May 2006.

In Cuba, President Raul Cas- tro, 82, was re-elected in February to a second five-year term. Castro officially became president in 2008, and first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in 2011.

Royals often remain anchored to their thrones, and in Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, who was born in 1923, has held power since his half brother Fahd died in 2005. He has been the country’s de-facto ruler since 1995.

In the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth is 87 years old and has reigned for 61 years.

Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952 at the age of 25 following the death of her father, George VI, and was crowned in 1953.

She is only the second English monarch in 1 000 years to rule for more than six decades, and looks set to surpass Queen Victoria’s record of 63 years in 2015.

Thai King Bhumibol, 85, is the world’s longest-serving head of state. His reign began in 1946 when he was 18, 67 years ago, following the still unsolved death of his older brother.

One important figure who felt he was too old to continue in his role was Pope Benedict XVI, who is 85 and surprised many in February by announcing that he would step down.

It is the first time in the Catholic Church’s modern history that a pope did not die on the throne, though perhaps not the last, as Pope Francis has replaced the Throne of Saint Peter with a simple chair.– SapaAFP