Just five years after being dramatically unseated by a court ruling, Peter Mutharika is set to return to power as the president of Malawi.
Mutharika, who held the top job from 2014 to 2020, seems to have triumphed in last week's general election, usurping his long-time rival, President Lazarus Chakwera.
Mutharika told voters on the campaign trail that life was simply better under him - Malawi has experienced one of its worst ever economic downturns since Chakwera took office.
But the record of 85-year-old Mutharika has its own blemishes, from corruption allegations to the debacle that ended his first presidency.
This is the fourth time he has run for office, but initially, Mutharika did not intend to go into politics.
Born in 1940 in the tea-growing region of Thyolo, he was raised by two teachers and developed a love for education.
I grew up in a family where my parents were educators, and myself I spent all my life in higher education, at seven universities on three continents, Mutharika commented in 2017, during an address at the UK's Oxford University.
Mutharika went on to become a professor, building an expertise in international justice. He spent decades away from Malawi teaching at institutions abroad.
He eventually pivoted to politics in 2004, returning home to serve as an adviser to his brother, Bingu, who became Malawi's president.
His political journey has seen him run for office multiple times, with the last few years punctuated by dramatic court rulings and electoral controversies.
Just before the recent election, Mutharika expressed his desire to step back from politics, surprising many with his return to seek the presidency amid criticisms of Chakwera's leadership.
Despite doubts surrounding his age and health, Mutharika has won the trust of voters, promising to turn around Malawi's economic struggles, a task that the nation watches keenly.
