The son of a bricklayer, Mr Tsvangirai had no formal education worked in a nickel mine before becoming involved in politics. Although he supported Mugabe's rise to power and Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980, he became an outspoken critic of the regime's excesses as head of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. He formed the MDC in 1999, leading the party to 57 seats the following year and fighting in opposition for nearly a decade before joining the government this year.