FACTBOX: Key Facts on Thabo Mbeki

(Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki lost an African National Congress leadership contest on Tuesday to Jacob Zuma, who is now on course to succeed him as head of state in 2009.

Here are some key facts on South Africa's president.

EARLY LIFE:

* Mbeki, born in June 1942 in the agricultural village of Idutywa in southeastern Transkei region, has been a long-time member of the ANC and son of one of the party's first leaders.

* At 14, he joined the ANC Youth League and at 19 he was ordered by the ANC to leave the country and accelerate his education in preparation for a leading role in later life.

* He earned a master's degree in economics at Sussex University in Britain and underwent military training in the Soviet Union, a key backer of the ANC's armed campaign against apartheid.

* PRESIDENT MBEKI:

* First elected in 1999 to succeed anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela as South Africa's second black president, Mbeki emerged as a cerebral leader committed to delivering on the promises of the country's young democracy. He was subsequently re-elected for a second term in April 2004.

* The 65-year-old leader has been under pressure from powerful trade unions and his own divided African National Congress to improve life for ordinary South Africans, many of whom lack electricity, water and other basic services.

* Mbeki's reserved public image stands in contrast to the ebullient Mandela. Widely regarded as a workaholic and credited with considerable intelligence, Mbeki's sensitivity to criticism has caused the most negative comment.

* TRAGEDY:

* Tragedy has never been far from Mbeki's life with his father being jailed for 30 years. His own illegitimate son, born when he was 16, and his brother, Jama, are missing and presumed killed while working for the party against white rule.

(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by Charles Dick)