FACTBOX: Key facts about South Africa's Jacob Zuma

(Reuters) - South Africa's highest court on Thursday ruled against ANC leader Jacob Zuma in his attempt to stop seized evidence being used against him in a corruption trial.

Here are some key facts about Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, born on April 12, 1942:

POLITICAL BACKGROUND:

* The National Prosecuting Authority charged Zuma with corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering on December 28, 2007, eight days after he won the ANC party leadership defeating incumbent President Thabo Mbeki.

* Zuma has said he would step down only if a court proves he is guilty. He has denied the charges which he said were politically motivated.

* The legal battle is likely to decide whether Zuma succeeds Mbeki, who is barred from seeking a third term as state president in 2009.

ZUMA'S POLITICAL FORTUNES:

* A former member of the ANC's military wing, Zuma rose 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.

* Zuma was South Africa's deputy president for six years before he was sacked 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 acquitted of rape charges in May 2006.

ZUMA - THE MAN:

* 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 has more recently been outspoken in his criticism of Zimbabwe. In contrast Mbeki, appointed as a regional mediator last year, has been strongly criticized for his softly approach to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

* Zuma has received no formal schooling. He was formerly married to South Africa's foreign minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.